April/May 2019

April / May 2019

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April / May 2019

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Protests to Save Housing Deal O Peter McNamara n Saturday March 3rd over a hundred members of the Irish Glass Bottle Housing Action Group gathered along Sean Moore road, in front of the high metal barriers of the Poolbeg West Strategic Development Zone (SDZ).

The SDZ, also known as the ‘Glass Bottle Site’, after the Glass Bottle Company which operated here for many years, has been a scene of much controversy.

The Housing Action Group were protesting in defence of the housing deal for the site, which, despite being signed off on by all interested parties in May 2017, now seems in jeopardy of being fundamentally revised or scrapped altogether.

That agreement called for compromise and trust on all sides. It would appear this trust has been broken. As things stand, the 900 social and affordable units promised to local councillors and residents might be reduced, or out-sourced from the area altogether.

The demonstration on March 3rd began with impassioned speeches from Action Group members. Susan Cummins gave her interpretation of the position of Dublin City Council, the receiver Deloitte, and the current Fine Gael government.

“You’re too poor to live in n

your own community,” she told the crowd, “so get out. It doesn’t matter if you work hard and pay your taxes. You can’t live here.”

The Irish Glass Bottle Housing Action Group have been very active of late. Their recent “Pillow Case Protest” saw local children drawing messages on pillow cases to Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy. The cases were then tied to the metal railings of the SDZ along Sean Moore Road. They are calling it Minister Murphy’s ‘wall of shame’.

At the demonstration on March 3rd, the sight of the white cotton cases flapping against the spiked industrial barriers, carrying their hand-written pleas from the children to Minister Murphy, did much to convey the suffering of the most inno-

Pages 20-21: Sean Moore Awards

cent victims of Dublin’s housing crisis, and the urgency of the Action Group’s work.

The speeches were followed by a march down Sean Moore Road. In a thick column, demonstrators chanted and shouted, and won countless beeps of support from passing motorists.

On hand that morning was Kevin Humphries of Labour, Jim O’Callaghan of Fianna Fáil, and Chris Andrews of Sinn Féin, to name a few. The march continued down Irishtown road, around Ringsend library, and onto Thorncastle Street.

As demonstrators passed the Ringsend Community Centre, the luxurious Canal Dock development – with its €20,000 a month penthouse apartments – could be seen looming high overhead. The demonstration

crossed to The Point roundabout, before rounding back toward the SDZ. The chanting and cheering – and supportive beeping – remained constant.

In summer 2017 this matter seemed settled. After persistent calls from local communities and city councillors, an agreement was reached between than Housing Minister Simon Coveney, councillors, Dublin City Council officials and the NAMA-appointed receiver, Deloitte.

When the SDZ was first outlined by the Dublin Docklands Authority in 2012, it was comprised of a 75% commercial and 25% housing mix, with the housing units capped at 2,500.

During the 2017 negotiations, the receiver Deloitte sought permission to build 3,500 housing

In this issue…

Page 4: Local Pollinator Plan

Page 14: Lir's Big Shots

units. In turn, local councillors, on behalf of their constituents, demanded an increase in the social and affordable housing allocation on the site, from the legislated 350 units (10% of the total) to 900 units (over 25% of the total).

Some people and councillors called for 50% social and affordable units on the site – their area would be faced with 10 years of extensive building works, and increased pressure on local amenities from an incoming population of nearly 7,000.

In the end, councillors passed a motion in May 2017 to lift the SDZ cap in return for increased units priced in the reach of local people. The plan was approved

by An Bord Pleanála. The only thing left to do was start building.

In April 2018 the situation changed. David Carson, on behalf of Deloitte, lodged an appeal with An Bord Pleanála against the 25%+ allocation of social/affordable housing. In clear disregard for the understanding reached with councillors, Carson is insisting on no more than the 10% allocation required by legislation.

Continued on page 2.

Above: Members of the Irish Glass Bottle Housing Action Group marching at the SDZ on March 2nd.

Pages 30-33: Candidate Election Special

Page 2

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Continued from page 1.

Unsurprisingly, councillors were shocked, and threatened to withdraw their support for any deal, which would delay building on the SDZ for several more years.

In order to salvage some deal for the site, Dublin City Council and Deloitte have been negotiating for the last few months, in parallel with Deloitte’s An Bord Pleanála appeal. Little is known about the scope and content of these negotiations. The Glass Bottle Housing Action group has been following the situation as best they can.

According to Susan Cummins, a key member of the Housing Action Group, people are worried. “We could have a decision any day. And we’ve no idea what’s happening. We could be cut back to 10%, or we could get no affordable housing on the site at all. It’s very distressing.”

Cummins was making reference to recent comments by Dublin City Council’s Head of Housing, Brendan Kenny. Kenny voiced concern about what appears to be a “wrong expectation” out there that we will be able to get affordable units in the city.

He went on to add that any housing built under the new affordable purchase scheme in the coming years “would be concentrated in the largely social housing suburbs of Ballymun, Darndale and Cherry Orchard.

The idea that people are expecting to buy affordable housing in

Protests to Save Housing Deal

Ranelagh or Rathmines, or even Sean McDermot Street – itʼs not on.”

If such comments are an indicator of the political will around social housing, there is reason to be concerned about the re-opened Glass Bottle negotiations. The 900 unit allocation might easily be cut back to 350.

What’s more, given the situation at Capital Dock – where the mandated social housing allocation at that luxury apartment development was outsourced to sites in far-flung Rialto – the SDZ might be left with no onsite social housing at all.

Kevin Humphries, the Labour

councillor and former TD, has been fighting for the community on this issue since 1999. He recently gave a rousing speech in the Senate lambasting the Minister and the Council on their lack of progress.

At the demonstration he was no less virulent. “It’s a shocking situation,” he told me. “To reduce the social housing allocation, after the agreement was made in good faith, is indefensible. And any plan to build it offsite sets a dangerous precedent.”

I asked Councillor Humphries what he thought would come of the negotiations and the receiver’s planning appeal.

April / May 2019

“I think An Bord Pleanála are actually delaying their decision so as to buy time for the Council and the receiver to come to some agreement. The Bord have a moral obligation to defend the agreed 900 social units. But their legislative remit might confine them to mandating for only 350. It’ll go down to the wire. It’s not unlike the Brexit mess we see.”

All eyes will be on those negotiations. If local councillors deem their outcome unacceptable, they’ve threatened to pull their support for the SDZ, and frustrate it in any way they can at council level. This could spell the end of this particular SDZ, since, under the relevant section of the Planning Act, a new draft planning scheme can only be introduced within two years of the original (Coveney) ministerial order.

The bad faith shown by Deloitte in this matter is hard to deny. Their actions undermine the democratic process. The Irish Glass Bottle Housing Action Group is intensifying their campaign to save what was, already, a compromise deal.

They’ve been fighting for a fair deal in the SDZ for over three years. These next few weeks may prove crucial.

See pages 28 & 29 for a feature on the IGB site.

Above: Susan Cummins gave a rousing speech at the demonstration.

Both photos in this article courtesy of Peter McNamara.

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Warren Behan from Ringsend catching up with NewsFour in Sydney.

Shaneika Sutherland and friend enjoying NewsFour at the Mardi Gras in Sydney.

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April / May 2019

Page 3

SPORTSCO CELEBRATES 40 YEARS IN BUSINESS: 1979 - 2019

O

n the 13th February 1979, SPORTSCO Sports and Social Club was officially opened on the old C.U.S. sports ground, adjacent to the ESB South Lotts Road transport depot.

Although originally built for ESB staff and families, it was also open to the local community of Ringsend and surrounding areas. Today membership consists of 50% ESB members and 50% Associate members from the local and surrounding areas.

There was great excitement in the local area that these fantastic leisure facilities would be available on our doorstep. These facilities would go on to ensure that many children and adults in the local community would learn how to swim and make health and fitness a major part of their lives.

Lorna Brady, CEO, SPORTSCO says: “I was one of those children and I remember clearly the excitement and anticipation that there would actu-

ally be a swimming pool on our doorstep. We closely watched the construction works and saw this great hole in the ground transform into a state of the art 25-metre swimming pool. We actually had to queue to gain entry for a swim on a Sunday afternoon. Little did I know then, how much these facilities would impact my life and many other local children at the time.�

SPORTSCO went on to provide not only great facilities, but also employment opportunities for many of the local community.

Clubs continued to thrive in

SPORTSCO and many competed at National and International Level. Even today, many local children continue to compete at National competition standard, through the excellent ESB Swimming Club.

SPORTSCO remains today, a not for profit organisation and committed to a programme of continuous redevelopment, quality and standards. This commitment is evident in the fantastic state-of-the-art facilities available today.

For full details on SPORTSCO see our website: http://sportsco.ie/ Or telephone: 01 6687022.

Facebook/Instagram: SPORTSCORingsend Twitter: SPORTSCODublin Pictured on left: Georgia Behan and Michael Ostrowski.

Centre: Lorna Brady, CEO SPORTSCO. Below: Sarah Murphy and Mark Stafford.

COMMUNITY / LOCAL

Page 4

Local biodiversity:

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April / May 2019

The Pollinator Plan

n Geneva Pattison ome people love them. Some people hate them. Let’s talk about pollinators.

Pollinators are insects that roam from flower to flower collecting pollen from each stamen.

Our main species of pollinator is the bee, with our country being home to 98 different species. In Ireland alone, there are 20 kinds of wild bumblebee, 77 wild solitary bee specimens and only one type of farmed honey bee. Research from the national biodiversity data centre has found that “one third of our 97 wild bee species are threatened with extinction in Ireland”.

The research also revealed that there are declines in the numbers of honeybees on our shores. This is due to drastic declines in the availability of natural nesting areas and a lack of year-round food sources.

Unlike the honey bee living in raised hives, the bumblebees nest on the ground in areas with long grass or suitable vegetation.

The solitary bees can burrow underground to nest, or create a chamber in holes found on pieces of wood.

Undisturbed hedgerows are the ideal place for bees to nest, as they provide safety and access to food for longer periods of the year.

However, many of these hedgerows suffer from a lack of maintenance, which contributes to a lower plant diversity.

These are not just issues for rural areas, they’re issues for urban localities too. This is where the All-Ireland Pollinator Plan comes into play.

There’s a buzz in the air The pollinator plan was established in order to help people from areas of Ireland combat the pollinator decline. It comprises of an online booklet which includes cost-effective tips for communities so they can create a more balanced environment on a local level.

There are 81 actions we can undertake in groups or individually. For example, simple steps like reducing the frequency of lawn

mowing, sowing wildflower seeds and incorporating more flowering shrubs and trees in your garden can have a high impact on improving biodiversity.

If wildflowers aren’t your thing, another wonderful way you can help is by creating a “bee hotel”. This would be a great project to do with the kids in the family. To start, you’ll need either hollow bamboo or reeds to create small tube-like structures for the bees to nest in. You’ll also need some wire or string to attach your grouping of the bamboo together, packed tightly for security.

You’ll also need plastic piping or a piece of wood in a similar shape, to secure around the tied bunch of bamboo. This will shield the bees from cross-winds and predators.

Lastly, make sure you have the bamboo shoots facing outward and close off the back of your bee hotel for extra protection. Another optional attachment you could add to your bee hotel is a sloping roof on top of it to divert rain. It would definitely add to the wow factor!

Great effort from local Tidy Towns.

The Donnybrook Tidy Towns committee have made a positive change in recent years by making room for urban pollinators. Their Buzz Shelter, located next to Old Wesley, has opened up an area of disused concrete ground, converting it into a wildflower oasis.

Some of the flowers included are fuchsias, doronicum (of the sunflower family) and garden mint and they have included ornamental grass for bee pit stops.

Their hopes are to encourage more pollinators back to the village and to conserve the species.

RITE have been in touch with NewsFour and have expressed interest in taking part in the local pollinator plan. They have spoken about their plans to create a wonderful wildflower meadow in the Ringsend / Irishtown area and the committee have already created bee hotels to support pollinators in the locality.

Along with this, they regularly share informative videos and tips on their facebook group to spread awareness.

Sandymount has beautiful public planting displays as stop-off points for pollinators, but are not taking part in extra pollinator activities this year. Speaking to the STTCA, they have said that they will possibly participate next year.

Good news, we’re not stung yet In a joint research study published last year, Jack Hassett of Limerick IT and Keith Browne of NUIG noted that native Irish “black bee” numbers were more plentiful than previously thought. Formerly, there were fears that the Irish bee had been driven to extinction due to disease, parasites like the varroa mite and through hybridisation.

However, through DNA testing they found

that the genus Apis mellifera mellifera were not wiped out from Ireland, in fact it found that we have the purest lineage of this breed of bee in Europe.“Data from 412 honey bees from 80 sampling sites across 24 counties shows the existence of a highly pure breeding population throughout the island”.This is a huge discovery that will aid in gathering clearer data about our bees.

NewsFour got in touch with Jack for further comment on his study and he said, “Honey bees are a critical natural pollinator worth billions to the global economy and they need to be preserved. With Ireland being home to such a pure native population of honey bee, it is therefore imperative that this natural resource be protected”.

A recent Eco Eye television programme has highlighted ways in which localities are improving urban environments for pollinators. In the show, Dr. Tomás Murray of the National Biodiversity Data Centre stated that the Bumblebee Monitoring Scheme has made a substantial positive impact on their scope of information on bumblebees in Ireland. The scheme involves volunteers going out once a month as citizen scientists gathering data and noting the amount of bumblebees they see on a one to two kilometre area walk.

Dr. Murray also revealed that the NBDC now have six years worth of data collected on bumblebees, thanks to citizen scientists.

Unfortunately, the information gathered shows a 14% decline in bumblebees over the six years, meaning a consistent effort needs to be made on all fronts to combat this.

There are many types of insects that pollinate but realistically, bees are the most efficient. In an article published on agriland.ie, Prof. Neil Rowan, director of the Bioscience Research Institute in AIT commented on the matter: “87 of the main 124 crops used directly for human consumption require or benefit from animal pollination annually.

Pollinator services contribute €153 billion and €54 million to the global and Irish economies respectively”.

Despite efforts being made, globally, the

numbers of pollinators have declined. Recent studies published by Science Direct states that up to 40% of the world’s insect population is threatened with extinction.

They state that “trends confirm that the sixth major extinction event is profoundly impacting life forms on our planet”. This evidence affirms that more entomofauna conservation measures need to be carried out.

Donnybrook local and NewsFour journalist, Eoin Meegan highlighted the sad reality of this through a clever joke he heard, “Imagine you’re in the future and a dad sits his son down and says: Son I want to talk to you about the birds and the bees. The son says: Dad … what’s a bee?”

If bees disappear, up to one third of our food crops could also disappear, which would devastate communities worldwide.

We’ve made a good start but, we need to greatly increase our attempts on an individual level. If we do so, momentum will gather and we will be ensuring a brighter future of the next generation.

Eco-eye programme is on the RTE player: https://www.rte.ie/player/series/eco-eye/ The full All Ireland Pollinator Plan: http://pollinators.ie/app/uploads/2018/04/ Local-Communities_actions-to-help-pollinators-2018-WEB.pdf To create a wild bee nesting habitat: http://pollinators.ie/app/uploads/2018/04/ Local-Communities_actions-to-help-pollinators-2018-WEB.pdf Read further into the Irish bee study: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.10 80/00218839.2018.1433949 Comments from Professor Rowan: https://www.agriland.ie/farming-news/beespecies-in-a-severe-decline-that-threatensfood-security-worldwide/ Science Direct worldwide entomofauna: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0006320718313636 Top: The ultimate pollinator.

(Photo: Eugene Carolan) Left: Bee hotel. (Image courtesy Pixabay)

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April / May 2019

COMMUNITY / LOCAL

An Taisce Spring Clean in April

F

n Geneva Pattison or the month of April, The National Spring Clean Initiative will take place throughout Ireland. The programme was established in 1999

by An Taisce, which formed a partnership with the Department of Environment, Heritage and Local Government along with the Local Authorities.

It has flourished over the years, growing from 155,000 people taking part in 1999 to a sizable 500,000 people joining the clean-up in 2017.

As stated on their website, the programme’s intentions are as follows: “Encourage clean-ups throughout the month of April, galvanise the practices of recycling and re-use where possible, increase the number of events and participants, promote personal responsibility for litter, heighten awareness of litter and waste issues”.

Statistics from the National Spring Clean website also highlight the amount of rubbish cleaned up by the public in 2017. They calculated that roughly “2,660 tonnes of litter was collected, of which 35% was recycled”. An Taisce also states that the recycling figures are significantly positive, considering it was only feasible to recycle bottles and cans. Cleanup groups are provided with relevant recycling bags to dispose of different materials in an efficient way.

The clean-up programme asks people to read the relevant health and safety information provided on the website before undertaking any cleaning and also prior to selecting a site for a clean-up. Public participants are provided with a protective smock for their clothes, plastic bags and gloves free of charge when they register with their local authorities and with the

NSC. Local authorities may be able to provide you with extra equipment if you request it beforehand. Once organisers have registered, they will also be covered under An Taisce’s Public Liability Insurance policy in case an accident or public damage occurs.

The RITE Stuff Margaret Dunne, chairperson of the Ringsend, Irishtown, Tidy Towns and Environment (RITE) committee got in touch with NewsFour, regarding the ongoing clean-ups in the area and the prevalent problem of dog fouling.

The members of RITE have also recently taken on a novel way of highlighting the extent of the issue, by drawing chalk

circles around every piece of animal dirt that is not disposed of properly.

“We need the community as a whole to come together with us to clean up and especially regarding the dog poo all around the place! We need people to come on board and give us a helping hand and if they have some ideas, this would also be a great help to us.

“Dog fouling isn’t just an eyesore, it is especially dangerous for young children and people with health issues.

Roundworms can exist in the faeces and easily transfer to humans, causing a toxocara infection. Similarly, cryptosporidiosis and salmonella can all be picked up through contact with dog mess.

“We have to keep the Tidy

Page 5 Towns alive and fresh in people’s minds”.

For Margaret and the other members of the RITE group, this is an ever-present hazard of the job. By making the effort to pick up after your dogs, you’ll be making the area cleaner and safer. You’ll also be giving the hard-working volunteers in RITE a little helping hand. We may be surrounded by dog dirt but remember, it’s not always a dog eat dog world.

RITE will be venturing out to take part in the National Spring Clean on Saturday the 27th of April as part of a citywide Dublin clean-up and will continue with their weekly local clean -ups on Saturdays. Be sure to join in and help make the community a more enjoyable space for all.

To read more about the National Spring Clean visit http:// www.nationalspringclean.org/.

R.I.T.E can be found on FB https://www.facebook.com/ groups/Ringsend-&-IrishtownTidyTowns-&-Environment RITE photo courtesy of Margaret Dunne.

FOOD

Page 6

The Cool Food School comes to Super Natural Food Market

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n Super Natural

he Cool Food School have brought fun, unique, interactive, food education to over 3,000 children since establishing in 2018. Our goal is to share the diversity and origin of foods, break down neophobia (the fear of new foods) and support parents in the daily battle to feed their children a healthy diet.

We bring food education to children in a school setting, focusing on the pre-school age group but also offering programmes to primary and secondary schools. We have also brought our workshops to Taste of Dublin, Airfield Estate, WellFest, the National Botanic Gardens and more.

Our owner, Deirdre Doyle,

a health coach and mother of three herself, is passionate about food education and says “We take food off the dinner table and bring it into the relaxed atmosphere of a fun workshop.”

This allows the children to use all their senses to examine the food; smell it, touch it, listen to it, look at it but without any pressure to taste it. This helps to give the children confidence around the food and this can bring them a step closer to eventually eating it!

Research shows that children need to be presented with a new food anything between seven and 20 times approximately, but parents often give up after only three attempts. At The Cool Food

School, we often repeat the foods we bring to class, but in new and exciting ways for the children e.g. a workshop might focus on cucumber one week and “eat your greens” involving cucumber another week. This helps with their exposure to foods which, in turn, increases the chances of them eating the food.

We are delighted to be bringing our unique workshops to The Super Natural Food Market on Pearse Street again. The Super Natural Food Market, with their em-

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phasis on real food and organic produce, are a great fit for our message of sustainability and food education.

We will be offering children the opportunity to make healthy, colourful smoothies on Saturday 27th April from 1.30pm - 2.30pm. We use Kiddies Food Kutters and Safety Food Peelers which allow the children to chop and peel food safely. The Kiddies Food Kutters are used

by Jamie Oliver in his “Learn Your Fruit and Veg” school programme in Australia.

Our sensory workshop will encourage the children to

April / May 2019

feel, smell, listen, look at and taste the food (if they want!).

It’s suitable for children from age three to seven years approximately. You can drop your children off and have a browse around the market for an hour, grab a coffee or some organic produce for dinner!

Tickets are €10 each (plus charges) and are available on Eventbrite. For more info www.thecoolfoodschool.ie Sat 27th April 1.30pm2.30pm. Spaces are limited so book early! For more info on market location and hours www.supernatural.ie

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April / May 2019

Page 7

Page 8

Dental Care Worth Smiling About

P

n Eoin

Meegan opular Sandymount dentist Dermott McMorrough has moved to Smiles Dental, Ireland’s largest privatelyowned dental care provider, in Waterloo Road.

Dermott had been in Sandymount since 1990, and after some initial jitters believes now he did the right thing. “Sandymount has a great community spirit. Everybody knows everybody else, and that is why it was with a heavy heart that I made the decision to move,” he told NewsFour, “you develop friendships over time, and that’s very important”.

The merger with Smiles Dental means Dermott can expand his practice and offer an improved service to all his existing customers.

It was passion for dentistry that motivated Dermott to choose the profession in the first place. Inspired at the age of fifteen by a rugby coach, who was also a trainee dentist, his mind was made up. “I just knew at that age that’s what I wanted to be. In fact, if I didn’t succeed in dentistry I wasn’t going to do any other kind of medicine. I would’ve probably went on to be an accountant, which was what my father wanted,” he says with a twinkle in his eye.

Although not born into the world of dentistry, Dermott did marry into it; his father-in-law, who turned out to be the second great influence on Dermott, was also a dentist. “I remember he used to sing every morning, and he told me that if you don’t enjoy the job you’re doing, then don’t do it. Those words transformed me”. Luckily Dermott loves his job, especially the element of social contact.

“The most interesting thing about dentistry is that you’re dealing with people, with families, and you get to know them.

I remember kids being brought to me by their parents, who are now bringing their own children in. A lot of things have changed in dentistry, but that

LOCAL / PROFILE

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ries about the fluoridation of water. “Amounts are miniscule, so I don’t see a problem”.

human element never changes”.

He told me he would often go into O’Reilly’s or Mulligan’s for lunch and someone would come up to him and start talking about their teeth, and ask him if he thought it needed a filling. Others would wave to him as they were passing by his house, his surgery being at the front.

So why the move to Smiles?

“I was really impressed with their total professionalism, their willingness to invest in the most up-to-date equipment, and the care they put into all aspects of dentistry”.

He also loves how Smiles look after the admin business, the part of it he wasn’t so fond of, leaving him free to concentrate on the dental side. “Investing in dentistry is very expensive today. To run a proper, efficient dental practice now,” he explains, “is becoming very expensive”.

Has he seen many changes in dentistry over the years?

“Yes. In the past, orthodontic treatment was symptom-orientated, today it is preventative, and even cosmetic driven. Also, image is really important today and people want whiter teeth,

April / May 2019

and for them to be perfectly straight. That’s just a change of the times, and it reflects a more affluent society. At one time, people wanted to hold on to what they had as long as they could, now it’s becoming more common to have implants put in, and braces, including invisalign”.

I had to ask what that was “Custom-made invisible and removable braces”. Very popular with young people. But even older people, he assures me, are having straightening done.

Dentures are nearly a thing of the past now, although Dermott does them when necessary.

Since his move to Waterloo Road, he notices a big increase in twenty-five year olds in his practice. “They can slip in during lunch time for a cleaning or whitening. In Sandymount, it was more elderly people and children. People expect a high standard of dental care. That’s why you always have to keep improving”.

Dermott is impressed at how healthy children’s teeth are today, and attributes this to fluoridation. “The health of children’s teeth today compared with when I started out is so much improved, and that’s in spite of all the sugary drinks they consume”. He has certainly no wor-

Are people still afraid of the dentist?

“Some people do fear pain but it’s our job to put them at ease.

However, the real pain today is the cost”. He makes no qualms about saying that money is the biggest fear people have. “Good dental care has become very prohibitive”.

He is very critical about the level of dental care that is provided for people on medical cards. “You are only entitled to one examination, and two fillings a year, you even have to pay for cleaning.

On the other hand, you can get as many extractions as you need, and dentures for free, which is really a shame. Pulling teeth is not best dental practice”.

Dermott wishes to stress that he will still be seeing medical card holders, and at present nothing has changed in that area, although he did add when he merged with Smiles they asked him to drop that side of the business. Smiles Dental broadly don’t do it.

Do you ever get bored looking into people’s mouths?

“No, not at all,” he laughs, “it is very rewarding to see people who may have been self conscious about their teeth leaving satisfied and confident about how they look. It’s about providing a caring service. That’s why I do what I do”.

Dermott wishes to show huge appreciation to Paula Egan, his receptionist, who has been with him for thirteen years, and hygienist Emma Ryan, who has been there for ten. Both have moved with him and are very much part of the Smiles team at Waterloo Road.

In his new move to Smiles, he wants to assure all of his current and old customers that nothing has changed. “It will still be the same friendly Sandymount service, only with the added benefit of Smiles support”.

We wish Dermott all the best at his new practice at Smiles Dental, St Martin’s House, Waterloo Road. For appointment call (01) 614 0440 Above: Dermott McMorrough.

Left: The Smiles Dental premises.

Photos: Eoin Meegan.

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April / May 2019

Page 9

LOCAL / DEVELOPMENT

Page 10

A

n Eoin

Meegan spate of shop closures over the last few years in Donnybrook has given rise to some concern that the once-thriving village is in danger of turning into a ghost town, or worse, a signpost on the Stillorgan Dual Carriageway on the way to Wexford.

Numbered among the recent casualties is Donna the Florist, Dunnes butchers, Molloy’s fish shop, and Kiely’s pub.

While the flower shop is still trading, sadly it is due to close its doors for good shortly. Donna has been in Donnybrook for many years now, and always has a welcoming smile for everyone. When NewsFour talked to her recently she said she was very sad to be closing and would really miss the people coming in for a chat. She told me she doesn’t have any immediate plans to open again. We all at NewsFour wish her well in her further career.

Roy Fox had been something of an institution in Donnybrook, serving the people for eighty years. As well as the Mecca of fresh vegetables, it was known for its exotic herbs and spices, and superior pastas, imported from Europe and Asia.

Joanne Donnelly was the third and last generation of the family to work in the shop. Shortly after her grandparents Sheila and Frank began working there, romance blossomed and they fell in love.

The couple eventually bought the shop after Roy’s untimely death, with many happy years ensuing. Sadly, however, due to market pressures and being underpriced by the big supermarkets, the shop closed for good in December 2016.

Two purveyors of meat are also noticeable losses. Molloy’s fish shop, next door to Roy

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Is Donnybrook becoming a ghost town?

Fox’s, closed following the sudden death of owner, second-generation fishmonger Peter. The shop was known for its fresh fish, organic smoked salmon and Dublin Bay prawns.

Peter’s wife Miriam carried on for a while, but it too eventually succumbed.

A similar fate befell Dunnes the butcher. As well as choice cuts of meat, they dry-aged their beef by a process of hanging it for four weeks in a special room.

This allows natural enzymes in the meat to break down the muscle tissue, allowing for better texture and taste.

While the big stores may be convenient and able to offer lower prices, the local shops provide the soul of a town.

When they begin to drop off, one by one, the town simply dies.

The closure of Kiely’s pub last year left a yawning chasm in the social life of the village. It was granted its first licence in 1739.

Popular restaurant O’Connell’s

Interested in knowing more about alcoholism?

Its impact on families? Need help? Need support? Just want info?

Open Public Meeting at the

Spellman Centre Monday May 27th 7.30pm

Open to all Whether you need to know more, need help or are a family or friends in a support role, you can come and just listen and find out more with AA and ALANON speakers on the night.

All are welcome to attend. Refreshments after.

The Spellman Centre currently runs once a week NA on Wednesday & AA on Thursday evenings.

The Spellman Centre, 17 Irishtown Road, Ringsend, Dublin 4. Phone 016677666. Helpline 01-6677666. Email rdrdacc@eircom.net

also closed before Christmas.

People miss chatting to Tom as he watered the plants outside.

The lease on the premises is up for sale again and it’s hoped it will reopen soon.

Financial institutions have suffered too, with two banks and the post office closing in the past few years. For Bank of Ireland and Ulster Bank, it was probably due to the ever-growing trend in online banking, and the increasing move towards machine-operated banks. There is only one bank now remaining in Donnybrook.

Post office closures all around the country are causing a lot of controversy, with people saying it’s destroying local communities, and Donnybrook has been no exception to this. The post office was located at the rear of Donnybrook Fair and acted as a kind of impromptu meeting place for half the village, especially on Fridays.

A spokesperson for An Post told NewsFour that they tried very hard to find a new location for the post office in Donnybrook, but with rising rental costs it proved impossible. In the end, they moved their existing customers to branches nearby, either Ranelagh, or the one in Ballsbridge or Baggot Street.

He said they have no plans to move back to Donnybrook.

A proposed six-storey, 71-bedroom hotel adjacent to the fire station has been given the green light by an Bord Pleanála. Many locals object to this on the grounds that they maintain it is out of character with the area,

and that the proposed building is too tall. Certainly, it could be a boost to the hospitality industry, which counts as a positive, but on the other hand it would cater predominantly to passing trade, and its impact on local business and the life of the village would be negligible.

Donnybrook is a picturesque village only about a half-hour walk from the city. It is also well-served by an excellent bus route, and not far from the Luas (Ranelagh and Milltown) and DART (Sandymount and Lansdowne) services either. It looks clean and well-kept, for which praise must go to the Donnybrook Tidy Towns Committee for the hard work and effort they put in, winning an award in the Tidy Towns last year.

It has a unique character, and is steeped in history, going back to St Broc in the eighth century.

The people are warm and friendly, and traditionally there has always been a wide selection of

April / May 2019

businesses, from travel agents to furniture shops, to friendly local newsagents (remember Furlongs?) I even remember a shop selling headstones at one time!

While a new hotel may have its merits, it can hardly replace the small local trader. Here, whether it be the local butcher, grocer or newsagent, you went in almost for the social aspect as much as anything else. You knew the shop owner by name, and more than likely he knew yours. You chatted about the local gossip, maybe to ask after someone who was in Vincent’s, or reminisce on old times.

There was a tangible intimacy here that cannot be replaced by the sterile supermarkets, no matter how convenient, or how clever they are at luring us in with ever-decreasing prices.

It’s particularly worrying when it comes to products like meat. The big supermarkets aren’t employing butchers, and even when they say their meat is produced in Ireland it doesn’t mean it is Irish beef or pork.

In time, these trades will be lost, like the dry-ageing technique mentioned above, and when they’re gone we won’t be able to get them back. It’s not just a question of a few shops closing, but a whole community that goes into decline.

A traditional village, like Donnybrook, is not just a collection of shops and business that happen to be grouped together in the same location. It is a community, an organic unit, and when you damage one part you affect all of it. Let’s hope this trend of closures can be reversed and before long we see Donnybrook as the vibrant village and thriving little community and it once was.

Photos: Eoin Meegan / Google Images.

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April / May 2019

The NewsFour Crossword Compiled by Gemma Byrne

Name:…………………………… Telephone:…………………

Address:…………………………………………………………

Page 11 ACROSS: 1) Disastrous (10) 6) Tasteless nail? (4) 11) Male human (3) 12) Slender curved bone (3) 13) Pennypincher (5) 14) Much of this can be about nothing (3) 15) German river (5) 16) Rushed (5) 17) Goal (3) 18) Bathroom (informal) (3) 19) State in western India (3) 20) Bring guns out on a limb? (3) 21) Plant seed (3) 22) Cinderella’s mousey pal (3) 23) Charge (3) 24) Relating to birth (5) 25) All bar this sister? (3) 26) Apothecary (7) 28) Pair (3) 29) Fresh (3) 30) Lull, hiatus (5) 31) Sign of the zodiac (3) 33) Dorothy’s favourite Elton John hit? (6, 5, 4) DOWN: 1) In order of date (15) 2) Arduous (9) 3) Philosophical show hosted by Gay Byrne (7, 2, 4) 4 Volatile, hot-headed (13) 5) To pack up and leave (2, 6, 3, 2) 7) Combinations (13) 8) Scoundrel (3) 9) Mountains in Waterford / Tipperary area (13) 10) All day long (4, 4, 2, 4) 27) Throw out (formally) (5) 32) To do this is human, so they say (3)

Solutions to february / march 2019 Crossword Across: 1) Multifunctional; 8) Nuclear power; 9) AIG; 10) Nurse; 11) Viewers; 12) Galia; 13) Blip; 14) Tenet; 15) Dodge; 16) SOS; 18) Gossamer; 20) Pseudo; 21) Banshee; 23) Carrick; 25) Negotiable; 26)Mace.

Down: 1) Mind numbing; 2) Lacerations; 3) Iceberg; 4) Unravel; 5) Cooperated; 6) Inelegant; 7) Laughing stock; 9) Assets; 15) Death; 17) Heir; 19) Eve; 20) Peace; 21) Ban; 22)Nag; 24) IDA. Prize of €25 Book token. Post entries to NewsFour, 13A Fitzwilliam Street, Ringsend, Dublin 4 by 22nd May 2019.

The winner of our Feb/Mar crossword competition is Gerry Brennan, Dublin 2.

ART

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Harry Clarke and the Art of the Risqué

I

n Geneva Pattison t’s common knowledge that St. Patrick’s Church houses a beautiful stained glass window by none other than famed artist Harry Clarke.

However, another place you can view a piece of his less readily available work is at the Hugh Lane Gallery. Until 2020, the gallery will host a piece of fascinating work by the renowned illustrator and stained glass artist, the Gilhooley panel from his “Geneva Window”.

It was originally commissioned in 1925 by the new Irish Free State to be presented to the League of Nations in Switzerland but, due to the subject matter, it was ultimately fated to end up elsewhere.

Clarke took his inspiration from Irish literature and proposed to “work in panels for 15 Irish writers” showcasing scenes from their various works. A collection of archival papers on Clarke from the National Library of Ireland state that “WB Yeats was extremely enthusiastic about the window and made many suggestions”.

Clarke’s final selection of wordsmiths comprised of some of the most revered Irish writers of the early part of the 20th century; James Joyce, Padraig Pearse, Lady Gregory, Sean O’Casey, W.B Yeats, Seamus O’Kelly, Padraic Colum, George Fitzmaurice, Liam O’Flaherty, James Stephens, J.M Synge, Seamus O’Sullivan, Lennox Robinson and AE (George William Russell). Clarke spent most of the Summer of 1927 completing the window.

The single panel, on show in the Hugh Lane Gallery, was originally intended to be a part of the full window and was based on author

Liam O’Flaherty’s novel Mr. Gilhooley.

However, the design was deemed too salacious by the Irish government, as it depicts a nude woman draped in a flowing transparent garment. Clarke used sultry pinks and reds for the material, which acts almost like a frame for the the woman’s dandelion yellow hair and alabaster complexion. Below the depiction, Clarke included a quote from the book; “She came towards him dancing, moving the folds of the veil so that they unfolded slowly as she danced” There was a lot of indecision surrounding the palatability of Clarke’s stained glass creation, regarding whether the full window would be suitable for presentation to the league of nations for their International Labour Building in Geneva. It was criticised in the Catholic Bulletin by a reviewer, which added to its questionability as an acceptable piece of art.

Sadly, Harry Clarke died in 1931 and more than a year after his death the government had still not designated the window a permanent home. His wife and fellow artist Margaret Clarke was frustrated at this point with the disapproval from the conservative politicians. She took action and bought the window back from the government due to their lack of decisiveness with her late husband’s work.

In 1935 Thomas Bodkin, director of the National Museum of Ireland and friend to the Clarkes described the Geneva window as “ a major work of art, the most loveliest thing ever made by an irish man”.

The full window was kept in Ireland up until 1988, when Harry’s sons sold it to art collector Mitchell Wolfson. It is now housed The Wolfsonian museum at the University of Florida.

From Switzerland to Ailesbury Road The Eve of St. Agnes is also on display in the Hugh Lane Gallery, featuring stained glass panels depicting scenes from Romantic poet John Keats’s

work. It was commissioned by the owner of the Jacob’s Biscuit Factory Harold Jacob, to adorn his father George N. Jacob’s home, St. Michael’s on Ailesbury road.

The luxurious 21-roomed house was built in the style of an Italian Romanesque villa and needed something equally luxurious to echo Jacob’s taste. Harold is noted as saying to Clarke that he wanted “something out of the usual run of domestic stained glass”.

He had some ideas for the theme of the window, those being summer and winter or day and night, but went with Clarke’s more imaginative suggestion in the end. A thrilled Clarke wrote to Jacob right away stating, “I shall set to work on the Eve of St. Agnes and submit my first coloured draft for discussion”. For Clarke, this was a rare treat. His commissioned window designs mostly came from churches and institutions, with strict instructions in terms of design.

Well known Dublin furniture maker, James Hicks, designed the custom wooden slips to hold the Agnes window in the Ailesbury Road home. To have the creative freedom to interpret and bring to life a poetic work from 1820, during a very conservative period in Ireland’s history, must have been a magical experience.

The poem centres around a young woman named Madeline and her soon-to-be lover Porphyro. On the night before the feast of St. Agnes, Porphyro hides in her chambers watching her from afar as Madeline prepares for bed. He wakes Madeline by playing a lute

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as a storm rages outside against the window. As daylight will soon approach, they must flee into the cover of the storm, into the unknown, seeking desire and the divine from one another.

When it was released in 1820, Keats’s poem was considered improper due to the provocative subject matter. Again, we see Clarke exploring the controversial realm through his art. He creates sumptuously ornate visuals of Madeline’s bedroom by using jewel-toned colours. This reflects the abundant passion felt by the lovers and mirrors the decadent nature of the Keats poem.

This is in contrast to the panels depicting the land outside; there’s more of a monotonal quality to them. The harsh world, outside the impulsive love affair, is devoid of the colour of life. He builds on Keats’s descriptions of the lovers by depicting them gazing lovingly into each other’s eyes in the final panel as they escape.

The beauty and craftsmanship of the St. Agnes window was appreciated immediately and in August of 1924 Clarke was awarded the gold medal for Arts and Crafts at the Aonach Tailteann. After the death of George N. Jacob in 1944, St. Michael’s was sold and the window was moved to Carrikbryn, Harold Jacob’s Foxrock home.

Upon the death of Harold Jacob in 1949, his wife auctioned the St. Agnes window, which went to stained glass artist Richard

April / May 2019

King, who was once the manager of the Clarke stained glass studios.

The St. Agnes window lay packed away for almost 30 years, until the curator of the Hugh Lane Gallery at the time, Ethna Waldron, acquired it for £20,000 from Mrs Alison King.

The legacy of Clarke can be felt across all of Dublin and Ireland.

This master of the craft of stained glass brought dreamlike fantasies to life, in a time when day to day living rarely allowed for such whimsy to be indulged in.

Whether they depict imaginative secular subjects or those of a strictly religious nature, these pieces will stand the test of time as enduring works of art, long after we’re gone. He saw a world of possibility and infinite exploration through his designs and this sense of ingenuity will always ring true.

Much like the famous quote from George Bernard Shaw, “better keep yourself clean and bright, you are the window through which you must see the world”, Harry Clarke certainly opened people’s eyes to the mind’s potential through his creations.

To view the Geneva Window visit the Wolfsonian’s website: https//digital.wolfsonian.org Details of Clarke’s career: https//www.nli.ie/pdfs/mss%20lists/ clarkeh.pdf Further information acquired from the book Harry Clarke and Artistic Visions of the New Irish State, edited by Angela Griffith, Marguerite Helmers and Róisín Kennedy.

Harry Clarke portrait courtesy of Wiki Commons.

Gilhooley Panel / Eve of St. Agnes photos: Geneva Pattison.

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April / May 2019

CULTURAL NEWS & ACTIVITIES

Record Store Day: the vinyl countdown

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n Geneva Pattison very year, we get the pleasure of enjoying music in all its glorious formats on Record Store Day and this year the date is set for April 13th. We’ve been supporting small independent record stores on this special day for over 10 years now. Grunge legends Pearl Jam have been announced as the international ambassadors for 2019.

In a press release, the RSD cofounder Carrie Colliton stated “I’ve worked in and around record stores my entire adult life and I feel like I’ve grown up with Pearl Jam because of it”.

Likewise, Pearl Jam are pleased with the alliance. The band’s guitarist Mike McCready said, “Pearl Jam is honoured to be Record Store Day’s Ambassador for 2019. Independent record stores are hugely important to me, and have been ever since I was 12 years old. Before I even really knew what they were, there was a certain feeling of ‘this is a dream come true,’ and it’s a wonderland

and there’s so much to learn in here… and it’s still that way”.

Some of the RSD exclusives and first releases we have to look forward to include records from Chic, Bob Dylan, Fleetwood Mac, Aretha Franklin, The Rolling Stones, Lou Reed, Prince and Queen. To see the full list of records, visit the Record Store Day site.

In Dublin, there are a number of record shops taking part, including Tower Records and Golden Discs beside Stephen’s Green, The Record Spot on Fade St. and Spindizzy Records in the Georges Street Arcade.

NewsFour got in touch with Spindizzy Records about the

availability of certain special releases, who said, “Due to the limited nature of each of these records, its very difficult to predict exactly which will be released and how many each store will be allocated for the day itself. We’ve been very happy with our allocation in previous years so we’re looking forward to carrying the bulk of the titles from the RSD master-list”.

The numbers of the releases in each store will be limited and records and CDs can’t be reserved.

Due to the first-come first-serve situation, be sure to get down and explore what’s on offer.

Contact: https://recordstoreday. com/SpecialReleases.

Summer preview of cultural events

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n David Prendeville t’s hard to believe but summer is just around the corner once more. Whether we get a repeat of last year’s scorching weather remains to be seen, but there are plenty of cultural events for people to enjoy, both nationally and locally over the summer months.

Locally, one of the undoubted highlights of any calendar year will, of course, be the Bloomsday festival which runs from the 11th to the 16th of June.

Particularly enticing prospects in the programme include the Ulysses in Sandymount Walking Tour on Wednesday June 12th, as well as the annual Bloomsday 2019 Readings and Songs, to take place on Sunday June 16th at a location yet to be decided.

Other fun-sounding events are the Joycean Pub Crawl and Bella Cohen’s Bloomsday Blowout, described as: “a literary salon inspired by James Joyce. It’s a glorious convergence of Bloomsday adventurers and chancers. In one moment, it’s an intimate evening of readings and song. In the next, it’s shape-shifting midsummer madness.”

Further afield, there is a wealth of options to enjoy on the music festival front. Forbidden Fruit in Kilmainham kicks off the summer festival season proper over the June bank holiday weekend. Of the acts so far announced, highlights include Jon Hopkins and Paul Kalkbrenner.

If one is looking for a more alternative, smaller festival, the increasingly well-regarded Open Ear takes place the same weekend on Sherkin Island off the West Coast of Cork.

Body and Soul returns for the Summer Solstice, running from the 21st to the 23rd of June. Lineups have yet to be announced

for the now-stalwart festival in Ballinlough Castle in Westmeath.

Again, those looking for less crowded fare may choose to wait for KnockanStockan, which runs from July 19th until the 21st.

Festival-goers positively raved about last year’s All Together Now, then in its maiden year.

The festival takes place at Curraghmore Estate in Waterford over the August bank holiday weekend.

It looks set to be a strong and eclectic lineup based on the acts that have already been announced, which includes Patti Smith, The National and Father John Misty.

The summer festival season concludes with Electric Picnic, which runs from August 30th to September 1st, in Stradbally in Laois. The recently-announced lineup includes, fresh off his US number one hit, Hozier, along with Echo and the Bunnymen, Christine and the Queens, Florence and the Machine, The 1975, The Strokes, Four Tet, Roisin Murphy, James Blake and many, many more.

Photo: James Joyce.

Courtesy Wiki Commons.

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WB Yeats funeral footage rediscovered

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n David Prendeville reviously undiscovered film of WB Yeats’s funeral has been found. The colour footage has been donated by Alan Aston to the Yeats Society in Sligo. Yeats, who was, of course, born in Sandymount, died in France in 1939, and had his remains returned to Sligo in 1948. This film of that funeral in Drumcliffe churchyard was in a box that had been handed down to Alan from his great uncle. The roll of film had more of less been untouched in 48 years.

On a whim one day, Alan, decided to see what might be on the film.

He had the film digitized. He began to realise it was Yeats’s funeral upon recognizing Ben Bulben and seeing Eamon De Valera present in the footage. The fact that the film was in colour was also a strong indicator that this was a film of a significant figure’s funeral.

Susan O’ Keefe, the director of the Yeats Society, tells me that when she first received mail from Alan telling her about his discovery, she initially thought that the film may well just be a copy of already existing material of Yeats’s funeral. However, she was soon convinced that this was something new, a real story and she became very excited at what had been discovered.

Alan Aston has now donated the film to the Yeats Society, an act that Susan describes as one of “real generosity”. She describes this development as “doubly-exciting”, given that the Yeats Society are celebrating their 60th anniversary this year and that is amazing to have something new and different, a “new story” on Yeats to add to all the others.

Photo of WB Yeats: Wiki Commons.

CULTURE / FILM

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April / May 2019

Top filmmakers for Irish Film School

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n David Prendeville here are some exciting forthcoming courses in the recently launched Irish Film School, based in The Lir on Pearse Street. Iconic producer-director Roger Corman is set to land at the school in July (exact date to be confirmed). He will be providing a one-day course on how to be cost-effective when making a film. While the Irish Film School is based in Fitzwilliam Place, these forthcoming classes will take place in Bow Street in Smithfield.

Roger Corman is a bona-fide legend of the film business. He is known predominantly as the producer of cheap, schlocky fare in the 1960s and 1970s.

Why then such reverence, you may ask?

Corman’s business model gave many of the most talented film-makers of that generation the chance to cut their teeth in the industry. Martin Scorsese made the crime movie Boxcar Bertha for Corman in 1972 before going on to become the world-famous director he is today.

Francis Ford Coppola started out with Corman’s Dementia 13, which was shot in Ireland in 1963. Corman also gave Jack Nicholson his first opportunities in the industry, though as a writer, rather than an actor.

When working as director on The Masque of the Red Death (1964), Corman gave the great Nicolas Roeg one of his first jobs as a cinematographer. Roeg would go on to be a director of wonderfully eccentric cult classics such as Performance, Don’t Look Now and The Man Who Fell to Earth. Other major directors who came through the Corman school, one way or another, included Jonathan Demme, Ron Howard and James Cameron.

Perhaps less well documented about Corman is a curious little business venture he had on these isles in the 1990s. Corman set up a studio in Connemara, Concorde Anois, from where he turned out B-movie style films. The company made a large number of films in this period and hopped through a variety of exploitation genres.

It allowed many people in the area to gain valuable experience working in film, which they would not otherwise have had.

However, Concorde Anois, was not without its critics. A screening of one of its films, Criminal Affairs, at the 1997 Galway Film Fleadh, led to complaints from the Sunday Times that the Irish government were helping fund pornography.

In any case, this curious and strangely under-documented chapter in Irish film-making was not to last long. Corman cited many reasons for this, chief among them the decline in theatrical exhibition for exploitation films at the turn of the century.

A place where Corman’s adventure in Connemara is chronicled is the 2014 documentary It Came from Connemara!

The new Irish Film School is co-founded by film-making titan John Boorman and producer Kieran Corrigan. Boorman’s continued passion for the medium of film can be seen in his comments about what drove him to set up the school: “Filmmaking is the process of turning money into light and then back into money again. In the past, I have often been asked to help out and teach this concept by the film industry and I really do what I can. Young film-makers

often come to me to ask for advice and I try to give it to them.

I have fifty years of experience in film-making and I founded the Irish Film School in order to help young film-makers to avoid all of the mistakes that I have made during my life in film. Also, to communicate my thoughts about film and the kind of film that can be made in the future, using the most modern technologies and equipment.”

Boorman himself will be passing on his expertise to young film-makers, on a fiveday course set for September.

The British-born director, who has lived in Ireland for many years, is best known for his dark 1970s thriller Deliverance, starring Burt Reynolds and Jon Voight. Other notable credits of his include the stylish 1960s crime film Point Blank, which starred Lee Marvin and the eccentric science fiction film Zardoz, starring Sean Connery.

In the last couple of decades, he has also made some films in Ireland. Most famously, he directed the Martin Cahill biopic The General, which starred Brendan Gleeson as the eponymous anti-hero. He collaborated with Gleeson once more on the less successful Celtic Tiger satire The Tiger’s Tail.

Corrigan, who produced The General for Boorman and also worked with Corman on Con-

corde Anois has a long and successful history in the industry and will also provide a Business of Film course in September.

Irish Film School have partnered with leading industry advisory groups: Merlin Films, Great Point Media, DNEG, New Horizons, China Film and Kilroy’s College to ensure that the training programmes deliver the most up-to-date skills and best experience.

While discussing the training programme, Lisa Wright, Director of Education at Irish Film School said, “This is a new way for students to upskill and gain relevant and valuable experience studying with experienced film professionals. The methodology we use is based on an apprenticeship approach.

It is a unique opportunity to build contacts in the industry and work with some of the best filmmakers in the world today”.

Other upcoming courses in the Irish Film School include: The Future of Television & Cross Platform Study-Telling with John Lynch (Head of Production at Amazon) which is a two-day course on the 6th and 7th of June and Visual FX with DNG on June 8th.

Other courses in the pipeline for 2019 but without fixed dates as of yet are: The Future of Television & Cross Platform Study-

Telling with John Lynch (Head of Production at Amazon) (two days)Young Filmmakers (1418 years) (four days), Summer Portfolio Filmmaking Course (five days), Hair & MakeUp for TV & Film (one-day), Scriptwriting (three days).

These courses, along with the Boorman and Corman ones, will take place in Bow Street in Smithfield. There is also a twenty per cent discount available for these courses by using the online coupon 20PERCENT. For more information on all of these check out www.irishfilmschool.com Above: Photo of John Boorman, seated on left, courtesy of the Irish Film School.

Below: Photo of Roger Corman courtesy of Wiki Commons.

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April / May 2019

Film News

A

CULTURE / FILM

Round-up April/May

n David Prendeville pril and May look set to be strong months for local cinemagoers. Back on the big screen on April 5th is a re-issue of Stanley Kubrick’s masterpiece A Clockwork Orange. The film, a scandal at the time of its release in 1971, was banned in Ireland up until 2000. It suffered from a self-imposed ban in the UK after Kubrick withdrew it after its initial release, because of death threats aimed at him and his family.

Speaking of films that were once banned in Ireland, Monty Python’s Life of Brian, is also being re-issued for its 40th anniversary this month. That film famously caused outrage in 1979 after complaints of being blasphemous. It remained banned in Ireland until 1987. While the re-issue has yet to receive a rating from the Irish Film

Classification Office, a sign of changed times can be seen in that the film has now been re-rated 12A in the UK. In terms of new releases in April, Neil Jordan’s, entertaining, daft Greta opens on April 19th. The film, a stalker thriller in the vein of 1990s films such as Single White Female, stars Isabelle Huppert, Chloe Grace Moretz and Maika Monroe. The plot sees Moretz’s character finding a bag on the subway and locating the owner – Huppert. The two begin to strike up an unusual surrogate mother-daughter relationship, but all is not what it seems.

There’s more Irish interest at the end of the month with the release of last year’s winner for best film at the Galway Film Fleadh, The Dig, which opens on April 26th. The film, starring Moe Dunford, is the feature debut of the Tohill

Brothers and was scripted by Stuart Drennan. The film is being distributed by Mespil Road-based Element Pictures.

May is set to be a strong month at the cinema. Brady Corbet’s superb satirical drama Vox Lux which stars Natalie Portman as a high-school massacre survivor turned popstar opens on May 3rd. The film is a formally adventurous, brilliantly acted and ferociously prescient film. At once

Well-Dance for Seniors in Mount Merrion

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Page 15

n David Prendeville ance Theatre of Ireland have announced that they are are set to expand their hugely successful, evidence-based modern dance programme Well-Dance for Seniors to Mount Merrion, as well as other locations.

Well-Dance for Seniors is an extremely popular programme for seniors providing a modern dance class that will guide people through a series of simple, modern and creative dance movements and exercises to improve breathing, balance, fluidity, flexibility and strength – all to a great range of music, for example: Stevie Wonder’s Superstition, Gene Kelly’s Singing in the Rain, Elvis, Frank Sinatra, Eva Cassidy, Johnny Cash and more). These classes set you up for the day, are exceptional fun and give fantastic results.

Some movement is done involving partnering (a la ballroom) but most movements are modern,

and include learning short phrases to great music. The Class also includes dancing, moving and not having to remember a thing – through improvisation! The class is designed and taught by the Dance Theatre of Ireland Artistic Directors Robert Connor and Loretta Yurick, one of Ireland’s leading professional Dance Companies.

The Well-Dance programme in Ireland has been studied and documented in two recent Studies, in 2014 and 2015, by Dr. Deirdre Connelly, Trinity College Occupational Therapy, Physical and Occupational Therapy in Geriatrics “as improving mobility, confidence, balance and wellbeing.” The study also found that dance promotes emotional wellbeing and combats isolation.

The full programme of classes is as follows: Well-Dance for Seniors – Dun Laoghaire Tues and Wed mornings 11-12:30.

DTI Centre for Dance – Bloomfields, Lower Georges St. Dun Laoghaire.

Well-Dance in Kilbarrack – Mondays 1-2.15pm, Foxfield-Kilbarrack Parish Hall.

Well-Dance in Ballinteer – Wednesdays 4.155.15pm, Ballinteer Community School.

Well-Dance in Mount Merrion – Fridays 3.304.30pm, Mount Merrion Community Centre.

Well-Dance in Shankill, Wednesdays 1:45-3pm, Shankill Tennis club.

More information can be found at www.dancetheatreofireland.com Photo courtesy of Dance Theatre of Ireland.

ironic and utterly serious, I would be surprised if there are many better films than this released this year.

Another highlight in May is the return of esteemed French auteur Claire Denis with her highly-acclaimed High Life.

Said to be an unusual, philosophical science-fiction film, it stars Robert Pattinson, Juliette Binoche and Mia Goth.

May is also a key month on the cinephile’s calendar as it

marks another edition of the Cannes Film Festival. While there do not seem to be many Irish films tipped to be in the official competition, the festival will give a good indication of the titles likely to shape the cinema-going experience over the next twelve months.

Amongst the high-profile films set to be in competition are Quentin Tarantino’s new film Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. The ninth film from the American auteur features a star-studded cast that includes Leonardo Di Caprio, Brad Pitt, Margot Robbie and Al Pacino and is set in Hollywood in 1969, at the tail end of the studio heydey and in and around the Manson murders.

The film is set for release in Ireland in August. New films from Pedro Almodovar, Terrence Malick and last year’s Palme d’Or winner Hirokazu Koreeda are also tipped to play at the festival.

Above: Still from A Clockwork Orange.

(Courtesy Wikipedia.org)

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LOCAL / HISTORY

Seeking Edgar Aplin:

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April / May 2019

The Singing Chemist

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n Geneva Pattison igeon House Road was once home to a Mr. Edgar Aplin. He was a chemist by trade with a passion for all things musical. The historical Gresham Hotel seemed like an appropriate setting to interview his granddaughters about their grandfather’s surprising story.

A pre-spring chill was in the air, but the spirits of the fans watching the rugby on TV in the lounge were anything but frosty. Unfortunately for us, this meant shouting was necessary over the devoted legion of sports enthusiasts. A lively start indeed.

Edgar started out life in a surprising manner, as there was an element of mystery surrounding his birth. Speaking to his granddaughters Hilary and Stephanie, they elaborated on this statement.

Hilary discovered him in the 1901 census while researching their family

history: “If you go to the census, you’ll find it says he was born in England… he wasn’t”. They already knew this to be false, due to family lore. Aplin was, in fact, born either on a steam boat in transit to South America, or in South America itself.

Edgar’s father had found work in South America as a silversmith or “whitesmith” as the ladies explain, so he and his wife packed up and shipped out. Hilary and Stephanie remember family stories about Edgar’s childhood, revolving around him spending his first few years sleeping in a drawer, “there were no cots back then!”.

Edgar returned to Ireland when he was seven years old from a non-English speaking continent having had no formal education. His granddaughters believe he must have been a dedicated student with academic talent, because when he was older he pursued pharmaceutical studies. Stephanie recalls a foolproof recipe passed down to her that originated from Edgar’s treatment for chronic hiccups: “A teaspoon of sugar, soaked in white vinegar and swallowed whole. I swear to God, I’ve never found anything so good”. Similarly, she was told of a concoction he made on site for burns using carron oil. It was hailed by the Dublin 4 locals and potentially developed specifically to cater for injuries coming from the nearby Glass Bottle works.

You’re probably wondering by now, what makes him a singing chemist?

His granddaughter Stephanie explains that her mother told her stories about her grandfather Edgar’s love of music: “My mother used to say that my granny and grandad went to the Theatre Royal, for an evening and during the interval the audience used to call for Aplin’s song, because he had a beautiful voice… he used to get up on stage and entertain them!”

Sadly, neither granddaughter can recall what exact song was ‘Aplin’s song’, although, Hilary believes it would have been similar to the songs of Jimmy O’Dea and Maureen Potter, as they were popular at the time. Stephanie went into further detail about Edgar’s musicality, “the family were all very musical, they could sing and play instruments”. “They were in a playgroup” says Hilary, “and they used to travel around to different churches performing”.

Finding the exact address of Edgar’s pharmacy in Ringsend proved difficult as his granddaughters were unsure of the location. After some digging through the Pearse Street Archives, Stephanie and I discovered the addresses of his premises and his years of activity as a pharmacist. His first pharmacy was located at 2, Bayview Irishtown from 1912 to the early 1930’s. After this he was stationed at 16 Bridge Street Ringsend, till his retirement in 1942.

He began to lose his hearing in the early 40’s, which was somewhat detrimental to his career.

“Chemists in those days were like doctors... it would have been very dangerous if he’d lost his hearing,” says Hilary. They needed fully functioning senses, as he was constantly diagnosing conditions. He was the public’s first port of call when they were sick. As a musical man, hearing loss must have been tough but, his granddaughters remember him having an old ear trumpet, which would have provided some relief.

It must have been a difficult time for Edgar Aplin, as in 1941, as his son Capt. Thomas Aplin fell victim to an unbelievably strange misfortune. His ship, the City of Waterford, collided with another vessel, the Dutch Tug Thames in the Atlantic Ocean. Capt.

Thomas Aplin led his crew safely to the lifeboats and launched them into the sea. They were rescued by the HMS Deptford and watched as their ship, City of Waterford, slowly submerged to the deep.

However, they did not remain safe for very long. Shortly after their rescue, they were transferred to another rescue ship, the Walmer Castle, which was then brutally bombed with few survivors. Edgar’s son, Captain Thomas

perished in the attack. Stephanie kindly provided the original newspaper cutting from the 1941 tragedy.

Hilary’s search for information on her ancestors led her to contact a distant cousin, who had dug up some interesting accounts of their family history.

He had found out that they were also related to a man called Robertus Aplin born in 1588, who “attended Charles I on the scaffold at Whitehall Palace in 1649 and to whom the King gave one of his gloves before he was executed”. It was a big deal in the 17th century to receive anything from the King, let alone be in his presence.

Hilary and Stephanie would be interested to hear from any readers who might remember Edgar Aplin or his pharmacy. If you remember anything about him or have any photos of his Pharmacy, please contact NewsFour.

Clockwise from top left: Article on Tom Aplin’s death courtesy of Hilary and Stephanie; Aplin family photo with Edgar back row, third from left; George Aplin younger and Mrs. Aplin; The Theatre Royal, Hawkins Street, courtesy of Flickr Images.

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April / May 2019

Cycling Wheelers & BuJo

BuJo blue for The Wheelers

T

n Kathrin Kobus he Sandymount Wheelers, a small social group of cycling enthusiasts have been around for a while and after the winter months it is time to get the two-wheelers back out on the road for some group trips at the weekends.

Their new tops match the blue colours of the foodie outlet which supports them. The tight-fitting tops arrived just in time for the inaugural journey out to Howth on Sunday March 24th.

A burger even as delicious as one from BuJo or the breakfast sandwich might not be everyone’s nutritional blast before a cycling trip, so the foodie outlet will in the future be adding a healthy and sporty choice to the weekend’s breakfast menu.

Porridge or Bircher Muesli (that’s overnight oats) will soon be found on an updated menu.

You will be able to add to a bowl of porridge from a variety of fruits, seeds, nuts or whatever your favourite fuel is for a bike tour. Some breakfast is clearly needed even if it’s only the rather short nearly 40 kilometres trip to Howth.

The idea for the Sandymount Wheelers sprang from Thomas Davy, looking for like-minded neighbours and friends to get cycling together. Word by mouth quickly spread. Now the group has nearly forty members. Joining is uncomplicated – just con-

tact Thomas Davy (details below).

The decisions to find the next destination are taken “during the later stages of the week, plans are hatched on Whatsapp and then those free and willing just meet at Bujo on a Saturday or Sunday morning.”

It’s fairly uncomplicated and works like this: usually, just around noon, the group will head off “towards either Wicklow or North Country Dublin.” Occasionally, the tour can stretch for 120km up to Sally Gap and on

to Enniskerry. The group, or at least some of the members, also support charity cycling events for The Peter McVerry Trust like the Wexford cycle or travel with the bike as luggage to events in France.

Once the Wheelers are on their way, the meeting place in BuJo gets busy, with families or groups in club colours from various sports organisations in the area.

They turn up with or without gear as in hockey sticks, rugby balls or hurleys. Please change out of

Page 17

studded boots before entering and don’t practise hurling or hockey while waiting for your order of burger, chips, shakes etc.

Otherwise, the atmosphere at the eaterie doesn’t require suit and tie, casual look is fine. If you are interested in joining up with the Sandymount Wheelers, Thomas Davy would like to know in advance, just give him a call on 087 28 30 331. Then bring your bike up to BuJo’s and get cycling fit.

Photographs: Kathrin Kobus.

FEATURE

Page 18

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April / May 2019

is it time to resurrect the

T

n Eoin

Meegan he ancient fair at Donnybrook, once an annual event on the village green (now the site of Bective Rangers, Old Wesley, and part of Herbert Park), had earned itself the reputation of being infamous; a place of drinking, fighting and all kinds of debauchery.

But is this reputation really deserved, or has its infamy been wildly exaggerated? Today we ask, has the time come to bring back this ancient landmark festival?

Donnybrook Fair came into existence from a patent granted

by King John to Dublin Corporation in 1204, and initially ran for eight days, later extended to fifteen. However, its roots go further back in time to the ancient Lughnasadh fair on this spot. The Lughnasadh was a combination of a horse fair, social gathering, and a place where marriages were arranged.

All elements, as we shall see, that were present at Donnybrook Fair. It probably shared in the tradition of the great Southern European carnivals, which usually took place on Shrove Tuesday. However, the meet at Donnybrook was originally held in May, later changed to August, perhaps because of the Irish weather.

Horses and other livestock were traded; apparently it was the go-to place for Dublin cabbies to get the best horses. At one time many such fairs took place throughout Ireland; Kerry’s Puck Fair is a contemporary remnant. But Donnybrook undoubtedly was the largest.

Music and theatre were an integral part of the fair. Pipers and fiddle players from all over the country would congregate, ensuring a fortnight of dancing, singing, storytelling and poetry recitals. Very popular, at the time, were truncated versions of Shakespearean plays, including Macbeth and Othello, while, according to Ó Maitiú, the drama became slightly more risqué in the fair’s later life.

Food and drink, as would be expected, were in plentiful supply: numerous tents advertised round ribs, boiled chicken,

Wicklow ham and other delicacies, accompanied by cabbage, dishes of potatoes, and carts of bread, to be washed down liberally with strong punch and ale.

A selection of top vintners and hoteliers in the city set up tents at the fair, some of these quite elaborate, including MacNamara’s of Kevin Street, and the Carlingford Beefsteak of Aston Quay; testimony to the high standard of the food and the esteem the fair was held in.

The Freeman’s Journal of August 1819 writes of the fair, “the greatest harmony and good humour prevailed throughout the day and numerous groups were to be seen recreating and amusing themselves in an innocent manner.” While, in respect to women attending, Saunders’ Newsletter recounts, “many females of the higher respectability drove through the Fair during the day, and the scene, in consequence of the beauty

of the weather, was particularly animated.” If we view Donnybrook fair through the lens of a cultural gathering it wasn’t all that different from Féile or Electric Picnic.

Entertainment and exotica became an integral part of the fair. There were tightrope walkers, professional circus performers, and a fun fair with swinging boats; even fireworks on certain nights. It attracted notable performance artists from around the world, such as Bell’s American Circus, and Polito’s and Wombwell’s, menageries.

Levi Leach, an American contortionist, who claimed to have performed for the US President, performed there in 1815, and the Irish Giant, reputedly tenfoot tall, made an appearance.

Early sporting fixtures were also a feature, including boxing and wrestling, and perhaps racing competitions between men.

So, how then did it get its name for notoriety; not just fighting, but drunkenness, and people openly engaging in sexual acts? Well, there are a number of explanations. Some of these may have their origin in the organised showpieces. Seamas Ó Maitiú tells us, “Much of the violence was sublimated into ritual such as mock battles and cudgel play in a similar way much of the sex was expressed in innuendo and double meaning,” (The Humours of Donnybrook, 1995). It’s not hard to see how time and careless reporting could transfer this mock play to the actual activity of those attending. Some writers, of course, did so deliberately.

Some elements of the English media liked to define the entire Irish race by the perceived yardstick of the fair; drunkenness, brawling, and bawdiness, often accompanied by sketches that suggest the worst excesses of caricature and an anti-Irish bias.

Paddy was never happier than when roaring drunk and beating someone over the head with his shillelagh. Soon the truth becomes a hostage to cultural stereotyping. Estyn Evans in his book ‘Irish Folk Ways’ (1845) was the first to apply the moniker “infamous” to the fair, a term that has pretty much stuck.

And while, undoubtedly, the fair did give young people a chance, rarely afforded, to get up to high jinks, this hardly gives us the right to recast it as

the Woodstock of its day. According to Barrington’s Memoirs, while things got boisterous towards the end of the eighteenth century they improved in the following one. In 1841 it was estimated that a crowd of 74,792 attended in one day alone.

Undoubtedly, with such a large attendance, and poor policing, it would be disingenuous to suggest a brawl never broke out, but you have to ask was it much worse than your average Saturday night in Temple Bar? Of course, with even the whiff of any scandal or impropriety it’s not surprising that both Churches, Protestant and Catholic set their face against the fair. Catholicism was a resurgent power in the nineteenth century following Catholic emancipation in 1829. And whatever about open sexual acts, match-making did take place at the fair, and sometimes young couples eloped and were married there by a defrocked priest simply known as the Tack’em.

Indeed, a certain Fr. Kearney of Liffey Street commented that the number of marriages contracted immediately after the fair was disproportionate to that of any other time of the year. This would have been an anathema to a growing puissant church that felt it had the moral authority to prescribe the sexual mores of the people.

In 1866 Donnybrook acquired a new church; the existing St Mary’s dating back to

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April / May 2019

FEATURE

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ancient fair of donnybrook?

1787 was in a state of serious disrepair. But incredibly this very edifice became intertwined in the story of Donnybrook fair, as if somehow, the fair was its raison d’être and not to replace a crumbling and defunct one.

Dr. O’Connell the parish priest of Donnybrook at the time announced that the new church was to be named the Church of the Sacred Heart, and built as an act of atonement or expiation for the sins of the fair over the centuries.

This, in a very overt way puts the church on a collision course with the fair. Further, Fr. Patrick Nowlan, a zealous young curate who came to Donnybrook in 1853, seemed to set out on a one-man crusade almost to have the fair shut down.

Located just across the river, on the south side of the Dodder, physically imposing, morally threatening, casting a shadow over the old fair green where the fair once was held, the new structure seemed to embody the arrival of a new power that would not tolerate opposition.

Even the opening day of the new church was carefully selected. This was August 26, 1866, known as Walking Sunday, the day when people came out from the city to see the tents being erected and have a family fun day out, and which heralded the start of the two-week extravaganza. Ó Maitiú, describes the events of 1866 as nothing less than a “showdown” between the fair and the church.

Officiating at this auspicious opening was none other than Paul Cullen, archbishop of Dublin and newly made cardinal. He had set up the Synod of Thurles to establish ecclesiastic discipline and to romanise the Irish church.

This regulated the custom for priests to dress in black and wear the collar, and be called ‘Father’. Prior to that in Ireland priests were addressed as mister, or even by their first name.

Cardinal Cullen almost singlehandedly created the brand of Catholicism that was to prevail for the next hundred years in Ireland.

Staunchly conservative, he took an active part in the First

Vatican Council in 1866 as a proponent of papal infallibility, even writing the draft formula that framed it. The wild, slightly pagan element of Donnybrook fair did not, it seems, fit in with the Catholic Ireland he envisioned.

The attitude of the Catholic Church however, only reflected a deeper mood that was prevalent in society at this time. It was one which advocated sobriety and a new kind of puritanism, and concerned itself with the moral husbandry of citizens, particularly apprentices and living-in servants, as if somehow they were the property of their respective masters.

The Temperance movement was on the rise and the Wesleyans had moved into Donnybrook. A new merchant class was in the ascendency, Catholics as well as Protestants, who acquired houses on Morehampton Road and Ailesbury Road and wanted to preserve an air of respectability.

They viewed the fair as a nuisance, and perhaps saw it as lowering the value of their property. Old-fashioned class snobbery also played a part in the demise of Donnybrook Fair! Fergus D’Arcy is probably accurate when he assigned the fair’s demise to “the cultural consequence of class formation in Dublin” (“The Decline and Fall of Donnybrook Fair,” JSTOR, 1988).

Henceforth, momentum grew in the nineteenth century to have the fair closed down.

However, as the Royal Charter could not legally be set aside this was no easy task. Dublin

Corporation was powerless to act as they no longer held the patent, having sold it to Henry Ussher in the 1690s to clear outstanding debts. In 1756 William Wolsey acquired it, and finally John Madden in 1812. When he died the patent fell to his sister Eleanor.

A plan was devised to purchase the patent and let it lapse, one of the driving forces behind this initiative being the aforementioned Fr. Nowlan. Nowlan arranged a meeting in the Mansion House with the Lord Mayor of Dublin, Joseph Boyce, and a committee was set up to oversee the purchase of the patent. A public subscription was opened and money gathered from all quarters.

Eleanor Madden was a deeply religious woman and apparently fell under the spell of the charismatic new curate, who, only two years after he arrived in the parish secured the patent for the princely sum of £3,000.

(There is a plaque commemorating Fr. Nowlan to this day inside Donnybrook church.)

So the fair officially came to an end in 1855. But this wasn’t the last of it. Joseph Dillon, the nephew of the aforesaid Madden, owned a pub on or near ‘Brookvale Road’ – which some locals still refer to as Dillon’s Row – approximately where the Ever Ready Garage is today. The licence covered

both the pub, thought to be called the Rose Tavern, as well as the grounds outside, known as Dillon’s field. So, by this somewhat ingenious loophole Donnybrook Fair continued, albeit in an attenuated state, for another thirteen years. By all accounts, the licence was in his daughter Eliza’s name, and from the sketchy information we have it would appear she was the driving force in keeping it open.

When the authorities revoked her licence in 1859, the pub continued to operate on a spirit grocer’s licence (the equivalent of an off-licence today). During the fair they sold food only, and invited publicans from various parts of the city to set up tents in their field. However, they faced ongoing harassment from the DMP (Dublin Metropolitan Police) and the threat of closure hung perpetually over them like the sword of Damocles.

In addition, they came under ecclesiastical fire in the form of a pastoral letter read out in every church in Dublin in 1860.

This letter denounced Dillon’s attempt to keep the fair open.

However, despite this, Eliza managed to keep going for two years after the new church was opened. But in the end it was a battle she could never win, and in 1868 Donnybrook Fair was to close for the last time.

So is it time to resurrect this great Dublin institution? Was its “infamy” really deserved, and if so, should an event that lasted for over 600 years be judged by its lowest common denominator? I think a lot of the calumny levelled against the

fair is misplaced, and certainly the excessive sexual licence exaggerated, if not invented.

All things considered, a very good argument could be made that the time is right to bring the fair back. And as for any erstwhile notoriety, that’s really a moot point, because a revised fair in Donnybrook would not look anything like its original.

Today, it would be reimagined as a festival of culture, theatre, and the arts, and would have to comply fully with Health and Safety. There’d be sporting events, a play area, and activities for children; in short it would be an event for all the family. Therefore, the sale of alcohol would be restricted to designated areas, with everything properly policed.

Such an occasion every summer would be a great boost to an ever-diminishing Donnybrook, and bring in much-needed revenue, both at a local level and to the Exchequer. But above all, it would carry an historical precedent, a longevity and historicity that no other part of Dublin can boast, going back almost a thousand years, and probably more. Let’s hope this great revival happens, and we can all once more look forward to – albeit in a peaceable manner – “having a donnybrook.”

Clockwise from top of page 18: Donnybrook Fair by Erskine Nichol.

Donnybrook Fair in all its Glory by William Saddler.

A Fair Fight.

Donnybrook Fair – 1835 Images courtesy of Google/ Eoin Meegan.

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April / May 2019

Sean Moore Awards 2019 T he Sean Moore Community Awards, sponsored by NewsFour and the Aviva Stadium, took place on 26 March at Clanna Gael Fontenoy club house.

Politicians in attendance on the night included: Councillor Dermot Lacey (Labour) and NewsFour founder member; Jim O’Callaghan TD (Fianna Fáil); Senator Kevin Humphreys (Labour) and Councillor Chris Andrews (Sinn Féin).

Jay Byrne receiving his award for 40 years involvement in community work. Jay has contributed to many charities, fundraisers and local activities around Ringsend and Sandymount, which includes work with Clanna Gael. He is also heavily involved with Shelbourne Racing pigeons club.

Also present was Lord Mayor of Ringsend Deke Rivers.

Speeches and presentation of awards were

by Roisin Ingle and Deputy Lord Mayor Frank Kennedy.

Food on the night was provided by Joe and Sharon Donnelly and their crew at the Fair Play Cafe.

Damien Waddick receiving the Sean Moore award for his tireless involvement and unceasing endeavour for his work around the Dodder River, assisted by his grandson Thomas, ensuring that the needs of nature and the animals that populate the area are protected.

Thanks to the NewsFour Committee: Ann Ingle; Mary Thompson; Ann Trehy.

Thanks must also go to Clanna Gael Fontenoy GAA Club for providing the venue.

Kevin Berney receiving his award for his unceasing hard work for social housing. He has been an integral part of the fight for affordable housing for people in the area. A special award for Kevin recognised for his continuing special efforts for social housing by the community.

Sheila Mooney receiving her award for her tireless work with the Sandymount Tidy Towns Committee. She leads by example, not only cleaning the street she lives on, but all around the village. Sheila has been exemplary in this role, starting a WhatsApp group of volunteers which now numbers 51. This award is a fitting tribute for her hard work and community spirit.

Councillor Dermot Lacey and Roisin Ingle at the awards ceremony.

Donal Lehmann is a home school liason teacher for St Patrick’s boys national school and the girls school and also Ringsend college. He is a vital, vibrant link between all three schools. A special award for Donal who has been described as positive, gentle and talented by the community.

Olive Farrell receiving her award for her community and voluntary work with the Ringsend Active Retirement group. Since she first became a member, this woman has dedicated herself with gusto to enhance the lives of older people in the area. She has enriched the lives of many older people in the area and is a worthy winner of the Sean Moore award.

Linda O’Sullivan receiving the Sean Moore award for winner Jonathon Tormey who couldn’t make the event on the night. Jonathon works for the FAI, but has worked in Ringsend and Pearse street for around ten years. He is known by nearly all the children in his area because he gives them so much of his time, arranging a football programme for small children.

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April / May 2019

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at Clanna Gael Fontenoy

Richard Good receiving the Sean Moore award. Richard has been involved in the Dodder Action Group since its inception. His dedicated knowledge and carefully crafted submissions have helped ensure that the environmental needs of the river have been taken into consideration and that the industrial heritage of the River Dodder has been respected.

Tony and Eileen Mc Dermott have been instrumental in forming the Harold’s Cross community council in 2006 with a view to tackling the dereliction of the area and to try to influence the shape of the redevelopment that was taking place. They set about creating a charter to bring the spirit of community back to the village while trying to ensure any future developments facilitated a vibrant and welcoming community.

Anne O’Rourke receiving the Jack Torpey Award. She has been involved with SAMRA for 35 years, she founded Sandymount Tidy Towns and is still an active member. She was involved in setting up the Neighbourhood Watch scheme in Sandymount. A worthy winner of the Sean Moore award.

Noella Hines receiving her Sean Moore award. Noella also helps out at the Greenore Rostriven Senior Day Centre and contributes lots of time to the Vincent de Paul Food Bank on Thursdays, where she gives food and helps out.

Bridget Gannon receiving her Sean Moore award. Bridget has been a resident for almost 40 years. She is a real bundle of energy She goes above and beyond in helping her community on a daily basis, checking on neighbours, sharing unwanted toys and is generally a really good person to have in the community. For this reason and many more, Bridget was recognized as a worthy recipient of the Sean Moore award.

The ladies of the newly-formed Ringsend and Irishtown Tidy Towns Environment (RITE) receiving their Sean Moore award.

Congratulations to them all.

David Doyle has raised a lot of money for cancer research over the past ten years. In doing so, he has brought a wider awareness of the illness to the general public, an illness that as so many of us know touches an awful lot of people in different ways in this country. David is a worthy winner of The Sean Moore Award for his special efforts in cancer research.

Conor Barnes receiving the Sean Moore award in probably the most emotionally charged award given on the night. Conor received a rousing applause for his actions in saving a woman’s life. If the Sean Moore awards are about community togetherness it was certainly embodied in this single award for a very special young man.

Paul Kennedy of The Watersedge Drama Group receiving his award for his marvellous creations. Often topical or historical, they have been thought-provoking and captured the attention, interest and imagination of the community. He has also provided a platform for participants to discover potential inside themselves that might otherwise have remained untapped. A well-deserved award for Paul.

BOOKS

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www.newsfour.ie

The Doctor Who Sat for a Year

M n Eoin

Meegan indfulness is a popular topic at present, and in “The Doctor Who Sat for a Year”, Brendan Kelly takes a unique approach when he sets out to document his decision to meditate for fifteen minutes every day for a whole year.

Of course, as anyone who’s tried meditation will know, it’s not as easy as it may look, and by day two Brendan had already hit a wall, only to quickly recover and find something close to Nirvana a few days later in Paris. Well, who wouldn’t?

Throughout this year-long odyssey, a wide range of topics – from books to cake addiction – get aired, and always, the figure of Trixie, his redoubtable moggie, is never far away.

The author freely admits to being a Zen failure, but the jury’s still out on Trixie. Brendan suspects he may be a master.

Topics arise without preamble, such as our strange approach to decision making. We think nothing of splashing out on a gym subscription that we never intend using, while assiduously avoiding the really big questions, like how

H

n Eoin

Meegan

istorical Irish Oddities

by Allen Foster is a delightful romp through the quirkiness and eccentricities that lie behind the ordinary and seemingly banal.

The subtitle of the book is “A Compendium of Extraordinary but True Tales.” Though it is uncertain how many of them are verifiable, however, this is not likely to bother too many.

Here we have a carefully gathered collection of old country legends passed down by word of mouth, probably around the fireplace on dark winters’ nights.

Within the pages you will find such delightful ditties as the story of the battle between the hen and the rat, which took place allegedly in a pub in the Naul, the famous Connemara pony who was waked, the baby who was left out in a pigsty only to be saved from the hogs by the farmer’s dog.

Others border more on the supernatural: like the woman who

can I make my life meaningful?

Elsewhere, we’re asked to reflect on the proclivity of those involved in personal development to swing from believing they’re absolutely right in the heat of an argument, to thinking they’re absolutely wrong an hour later, and berating themselves for the former decision. Kelly cautions against this tendency towards self-abasement. Instead, he enigmatically advises, “just to sit.”

Brendan Kelly is a professor of psychiatry at Trinity College Dublin and a consultant psychiatrist in Tallaght University Hospital. He had to work his meditation around a busy schedule that included seminars, radio and TV slots, which included an appearance on The Late Late Show. He has written extensively elsewhere on this subject, as well as publishing many academic papers.

Brendan situates his practice very much in the Buddhist tradition, and sets out a different theme for each month, based around the Four Noble Truths and the Eight-Fold Path. For anyone not familiar with Buddhism, the first is what frames Buddhist thought,

ment from an angry god. Rather it arises from our thoughts. It is our thoughts about things, and about ourselves, that cause us to suffer.

The book recounts Kelly’s visits to some of the most revered Buddhist sites in India, including Bodhgaya, the town where Buddha was said to have gained enlightenment sitting under the bodhi tree. Brendan even had a go himself when he was there.

He also visited Patna, in North East India and closer to home, Dzogchen Beara, a Buddhist centre in the Beara Peninsula in West Cork. Apparently, Ireland has more connection with Buddhism than we might realise.

He defines the right kind of reincarnation by a quote attributed to the Buddha; “every morning we are born again. What we do today is what matters most”.

This is not a book that purports to teach you how to meditate, and may thus find more appeal with those who have an academic interest in the subject, or are already seasoned practitioners. However, I hope this is not the case, as there is much to learn here. Worth the price alone just to discover how cats gain enlightenment! and the second the method that the student is meant to follow.

‘Dukkha’ is the first of the four noble truths. Roughly translated it

means, ‘All life is suffering.’ But in the Buddhist tradition suffering is not something that happens to us, and certainly not punish-

Historical Irish Oddities was almost buried alive, the girl who could only read upside down, the man who was hanged twice, and the man who insisted on being evicted from his home in his coffin. A little spooky at times. But delivered with wry amusement.

A curious story of ethnicity tells of a diminutive race of people who once inhabited parts of Ireland. They were named ‘the Ranties,’ but unfortunately became extinct either during the famine, or through in-breeding.

Perhaps here we have the origin of our stories of the ‘little folk.’

Elsewhere, there is the touching romance between Mary Tudor and Christian Wilson, whose families were a bit like the Montagues and the Capulets and tried to thwart their love.

Or the tale of a certain James Liddy who apparently invented the spring mattress. The story

April / May 2019

goes that when Liddy emigrated to America he was so taken with the springs in seats that he decided to experiment with his bed. He then attached a number of these springs to a board and put a mattress over it, thus creating the spring mattress. Unfortunately for him, he never pat-

ented his invention.

Ringsend gets a couple of mentions. There is the story of two fisherman from the village named James Hodgens and George Roden who were fishing off Howth in 1891. When they pulled in their net they discovered a man’s body there. To his horror Roden recognised him as his own brother who unfortunately was lost at sea a year earlier. Another story is that of a schooner which collided with a tram on the Victoria drawbridge in 1921.

One story guaranteed to elicit a smile is that of the postmaster of Lismore, in Waterford, who travelled from that town to Fermoy in a tub pulled by the extraordinary combination of a pig, a badger, two cats, a goose and a hedgehog; while wearing a bright red nightcap. By all accounts he did it for a bet.

The Doctor Who Sat for a Year by Brendan Kelly (2019), published by Gill Books, price €16.99 is available from booksonthegreen.ie This was in 1821 and as there were no cameras around to record the event, or anyone to take a selfie, the authenticity of this expedition will have to ever remain a mystery: however reports abound that the postmaster collected his winnings!

Historical Irish Oddities is the kind of book you might dip into whenever you take the fancy, rather that read from cover to cover, always finding something new.

It would make an interesting perusal on a train, or while away a few hours on a rainy day. I think it could have been improved by grouping the various stories under themed headings, as at times it gets a little confusing without this categorisation. But definitely will raise a chuckle.

Historical Irish Oddities by Allen Foster (2009), published

by Gill Books, price €8.99, is available from booksonthegreen.ie

www.newsfour.ie

April / May 2019

BOOKS

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Censored to citywide:

T

The Country Girls Trilogy

n Geneva Pattison his April will see the return of the Dublin One City One Book programme. The Dublin City Library-led programme encourages the public to read a book during the month of April that has a connection with our capital city.

The Country Girls Trilogy by Edna O’Brien has been chosen as the book for 2019. Originally published in 1960, the book was eventually banned by the Irish censor because of its content.

O’Brien was berated and shamed by her parents and was sent a string of threatening letters. Even her own parish priest would openly burn copies of the book. Later, the book became revered for its attention to detail, its feminist qualities and its underlying address to the reader to question the benefits of rigid Irish Catholic society.

The book was written over a short three-week span. This is something O’Brien has often commented on, by remarking that “the book wrote itself”.

Set against the backdrop of 1950’s post-war Ireland, it explores the theme of sexuality and draws attention to the complex social mores that people

participated in at the time, especially with regards to younger women.

We meet a teenage Caithleen, the main character of the book, as she awakens one morning and is suddenly struck by anxiety. She lives on a farm run mainly by her mother “mama” and the farm assistant Hickey.

Her father is a heavy drinker and an unpleasant man, who disappears for days on end, much to the delight of everyone on the farm. Caithleen’s ‘friend’, Baba, is well off and enjoys reminding Caithleen of that fact. One day Caithleen receives some exciting news from school… shortly followed by the worst news imaginable.

Both developments will change her life forever.

This coming-of-age novel is written from the point of view of Caithleen, which gives us an innate insight into the mindset of the younger generation of Irish people during this time of immense change. Womens’ and girls’ lives were completely ruled by their families and by the Catholic church during the 1950’s, and that would continue to be the case up into the early 1970’s, when women began to assert their freedom.

Caithleen’s story shows us how her freedom fluctuates, from one overbearing situation to another. She’s a contemplative, quiet dreamer, a character aspect which her friend Baba, and others, seem to take advantage of frequently.

When she gets a placement to study in a convent, we see this relationship between the girls shift, as Baba becomes more reliant on Caithleen’s company.

After three long years, Baba decides that enough is enough and drafts Caithleen into executing an escape plan involving getting them expelled.

“Your mind is so despicable that I cannot conceive how you have gone unnoticed all these years. Poor sister Margaret, she has suffered the greatest shock of her religious life,” says the Reverend Mother in the book.

Despite Caithleen’s tendency to dream, we understand at this point that she is a stronger willed character than Baba.

While Baba tends to go back on her word and lie to get what she wants, Caithleen will always lean towards the truth and stand her ground, no matter the consequence.

When the girls set off for Dublin city, there’s a sense of electricity in the air, both girls finally feel like free women. After the girls become acquainted with city living, they are confronted with the harsh realities of adulthood. They realise life isn’t always like a dream.

The Country Girls is the first book in the trilogy, followed by The Lonely Girl and Girls in Their Married Bliss. Each book tracks the girls’ progression through life, the obstacles they face and their constant struggle to find and define the meaning of true contentment.

These books paved the way for a shift in the way Irish literature was perceived. There’s still a sense of wistfulness there, a longing for better times.

However, we see O’Brien counterbalance this with a young female perspective on the grimy truths of 1950’s Ireland that so many people chose to sweep under the rug.

As Inventing Ireland critic

Declan Kiberd said, she is “the writer who made many of the subsequent advances in Irish women’s writing possible: and she continued to craft a prose of surpassing beauty and exactitude”.

With a catalogue of 18 novels, nine collections, five plays and a volume of poetry under her belt, it’s easy to understand how and why Edna O’Brien is such an integral part of the history of Irish literature.

There will be a number of free events on around the city and locally for the month of April.

On the 3rd of April, Pearse St. Library will launch an exhibition lasting until the end of May called Evil Literature: Banned books in the collections of Dublin City Library and Archive.

The exhibition is based on the collections of the Dublin City Archives and the Dublin City Reading Room.

The National Library of Ireland will host the History Ireland Hedge School on the 9th of April at 7pm, led by History Ireland editor Tommy Graham along with a panel. The topic up for discussion is censorship in Ireland and all are welcome.

UCD will host a free seminar entitled The Work and the

Archive: Researching Edna O’Brien’s papers at University College Dublin on April 11th at 5pm. The seminar will last till 6:30pm and will be led by Dr. Dan O’Brien and Evelyn Flanagan. To secure a seat, you may need to book a ticket through Eventbrite.ie.

Edna O’Brien herself will appear on the 24th of April in The Mansion House. She will be interviewed by Colum McCann about her lifelong contribution to literature and how she changed the face of Irish writing in the 1960’s. They will also be accompanied by musicians on the night who will play some of Edna’s favourite songs.

The ticketed event is free but, fully booked already. Sign up to the dublinonescityonebook. ie newsletter to check if some tickets become available. http://www.dublinonecityonebook.ie/ http://www.dublinonecityonebook.ie/news/ http://www.dublinonecityonebook.ie/news/ucd-library-spotlight-book-display/ Left: Picture of Edna O’Brien

by Murdo MacLeod.

Top: Logo and book cover courtesy of Dublincityofliterature.ie

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April / May 2019

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DCC Notes

DCC NOTES

www.newsfour.ie

for February / March 2019

Compiled by David Prendeville

T

he South East Area Committee (SEAC) held their most recent monthly meetings on February 11th and March 11th. The following is a compilation of some of the main issues, relevant to the local area, that were raised at the meetings.

11th February SEAC Notes Cllr Dermot Lacey (Labour Party) asked if it can be arranged for the railings along Beech Hill park to be painted. He also asked if the railings close to the junction with Beech Hill Drive, where a car crashed into last year, could be repaired. The council responded that: “There is no specific funding allocated to paint the railings here at the present time, however the location can be considered in the context of future budget allocations. The damaged section can be repaired over the next four weeks.”

Cllr Lacey asked the manager if he will have the pavement in the vicinity of the Sandymount Dart Station examined and repaired and upgraded where necessary, given the high volume of, in particular, wheelchair users, at this station. The manager responded that this would be logged in their Asset Management System and that repairs would be made as soon as possible.

Cllr Frank Kennedy (Fianna Fáil) asked for the installation of pedestrian traffic lights or a zebra crossing on Thorncastle Street, Ringsend, to facilitate the safe crossing from one side of Thorncastle Street to the other, in particular for residents of Whelan House and O’Rahilly House. He said: “The traffic has become extremely heavy recently and children and senior citizens cannot safely cross the road. There is a real risk that someone will be knocked down at present.” The council’s response was that it will be listed on the Traffic Advisory Group Agenda for examination and report and a recommendation will be made in due course.

Referring to removal work done at his request in 2015 and 2016, but that hasn’t been done since, Cllr Kennedy asked for a full and comprehensive clean and sweep, to include the removal of all moss and other detritus off the footpaths and road surface of Richelieu Park, Dublin 4. DCC’s response was Waste Management Services had the footpaths and road surface of Richelieu Park swept and cleaned up on the 30th January 2019.

Cllr Chris Andrews (Sinn Féin) raised the question as to whether it can be arranged that residents in Margaret Place, whose entrances are sometimes being blocked by deliveries to the pub, can have parking permits on Bath Avenue. He also asked if the manager could say how many residents in Margaret Place currently hold

parking permits on Bath Avenue. The manager responded as such: “Residents can make requests for additional streets on their residents’ parking permits to the Parking Policy & Enforcement Section and these requests will be examined on a case by case basis. Currently, four residents on Margaret Place have Bath Avenue specified on their residents’ parking permits.”

Cllr Claire Byrne (Green Party) asked if action could be taken to prune the trees on St. Mary’s Road. She said: “These trees are very tall and were a hazard in the high winds last year, with branches falling down and one tree almost falling onto a house.

Can the manager please come up with a plan to address this issue, without removing the trees?” The manager responded: “The trees on this street were pruned three years ago and would not be considered a priority for general pruning at the present time. Park staff will continue to monitor the trees and will carry out any work, if deemed necessary.”

11th March SEAC Notes Cllr Lacey brought forward the motion that the manager investigate the possibility of installing self-locking gates at Sandymount Green. A constituent raised the issue of safety in this area, with young children often cycling out from the green on to the main road, unaware. The response was that: “Parks Services does not have an objection in principle to the installation of ‘self-closing’ gates on one or more of the pedestrian gates at Sandymount Green. Although it is recommended that local stakeholders are consulted in regard to the works prior to any changes being implemented.”

Cllr Lacey also put forward a motion, raised by a constituent, relating to traffic lights at a crossing near Donnybrook Church and crossing between Spar and Donna Florists on Donnybrook road which if not rectified, will “cause serious injury.”

Detailed in the motion is how the crossing is on a blind-spot and that people who walk out upon the lights immediately turning green, are in danger of being hit by cars and cyclists turning the corner and breaking the lights. Council responded that: “the pedestrian crossing at the junction of Anglesea

Road has been monitored during the AM and PM peaks. The existing crossing times and collision times meet the safety requirements as calculated by our maintenance contractors. These safety timings are correct but due to aggressive driver behaviour we have increased the safety times.”

Cllr Kennedy brought up a motion on an issue that he initially brought up in 2015 but that he says was rejected on the basis of a misunderstanding in 2017, for a pedestrian crossing from one side of the top of Sandymount Avenue to the other (at the Tjunction where Sandymount Avenue meets Gilford Road). The response from council was that this area would be listed with the Traffic Advisory Group for examination and report by the Area Engineer. The Councillor will be informed of the outcome in due course.

Cllr Byrne called on the area manager to ensure that the new Tea Rooms in Merrion Square will not use or sell any singleuse plastics, and will only serve reusable kitchenware and full combustible or recyclable kitchenware for take-away items.

The manager responded: “There are six tea rooms in parks at present and each of the tea room operators have indicated that they are already using a variety of recyclable, biodegradable, and compostable products and are actively working towards eliminating any remaining use and sale of singleuse plastics.The selection of an operator for the tea rooms in Merrion Square Park will in part be assessed by their environment policy and waste management plan.“ Cllr Andrews asked if the manager could arrange to have some form of clarity for cars turning right from Bath Avenue onto South Lotts Road? The manager responded that vehicles are legally allowed take a right turn from Bath Avenue onto South Lotts Road. The traffic lights are sequenced for vehicles to perform this manoeuvre once it is safe to do so.

Cllr McCartan (Fine Gael) asked on behalf of a constituent that the manager notify the Garda Siochána of the persistent illegal left turns by motorists from Nutley Lane, Donnybrook onto Nutley Road during the morning rush hour where the restriction applies. The manager said that this request

April / May 2019

would be raised with the Garda Siochana at the next Traffic Advisory Group Meeting.

Cllr Kennedy asked for the urgent repair of a badly damaged footpath on Claremont Road, Sandymount, stating that seventeen years ago a resident of Claremont Park fell here and broke her shoulder, yet it remains unfixed to this day. The manager responded that this will be examined and a reply issued to Councillor.

Cllr Kennedy asked the manager to repair the footpaths on Sandymount Road between Tesco and Star of the Sea Church, on both sides of Sandymount Road, but, in particular on the same side as Tesco and the Church, noting that the footpaths are especially poor at the top of Marine Drive.

The manager responded that: “This footpath will be considered for inclusion in our next year’s Footpath Reconstruction Works Programme. In the meantime, defects will be put on our works list for repairs to be carried out.”

Cllr Byrne asked the area manager if he would consider widening the footpath at Merrion Row and Lower Baggot Street.

Cllr Byrne describes it as being very narrow and difficult for pedestrians, particularly those with buggies or disabilities.

The council responded that it would not be possible to reduce either of the two carriageway widths on Merrion Row in order to increase the footpaths width for pedestrians crossing from Merrion Row to Lower Baggot Street. This is to facilitate Dublin Bus vehicles turning from Merrion Row onto Merrion Street Upper.

Cllr Byrne asked the area manager if he will liaise with the Aviva Stadium and other local businesses to work on an improved cleaning plan for the local area during and after the matches and events.

Many residents have complained about the increase in litter recently. Response from council was: “A litter warden will visit the commercial premises (convenience stores, take-away premises and public houses primarily) within the locality of the Aviva Stadium to explain their responsibilities under the Bye-Laws for the Prevention and Control of Litter. The Waste Management Department will work with the South East Area Office and other relevant stakeholders including Stadium management and local residents to ensure that post-event cleaning is carried out to the required standard following events.”

Cllr Byrne also asked if the area manager if he will install an exit safety ladder from the river along the Dodder walkway. Cllr Byrne pointed to the fact that there is only one located from the Dodder sea scouts and not another for quite a stretch. Cllr Byrne says this would greatly improve safety for walkers and river users. The council responded that: “This question has been forwarded to the Office of Public Works for comment and a reply will issue to the Councillor when a response is received.”

Photo: River Dodder and Aviva.

Courtesy Geograph.ie

www.newsfour.ie

April / May 2019

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Dublin Waste to Energy facility processes one millionth tonne

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ublin Waste to Energy facility has accepted its one millionth tonnes of residual waste at its facility at Poolbeg in Dublin. It was delivered by Keywaste Ltd., which is one of the companies contracted to deliver waste to the facility.

It has been operating since June 2017 and is currently accepting 600,000 tonnes of waste per year.

Since beginning its operation it has produced over 700,000 megawatt hours of electricity, resulting in over 100,000 homes being supplied with renewable energy.

The Dublin Waste-to-Energy project is a Public Private Partnership (PPP) between Dublin City Council (acting on behalf of the four Dublin Local Authori-

ties) and Covanta, a world leader in providing sustainable waste and energy solutions, to provide a thermal treatment plant to treat municipal waste that cannot be reused or recycled.

Located in Poolbeg, in Dublin Port, the facility provides the Dublin region with a long-term sustainable and environmentally superior waste management solution, enabling it to divert postrecycled waste from landfills and become locally self-sufficient in managing waste, consistent with regional, national and EU waste policies.

Annually, the facility generates clean energy to supply 80,000 homes, reducing Ireland’s reliance on imported fossil fuel,

and has also been designed with technology and infrastructure to provide enough heat to meet the equivalent needs of over 50,000 homes.

John Daly, General Manager of Dublin Waste to Energy Ltd said, “This is a key milestone in the operation of the facility and demonstrates the demand in Ireland for diverting waste away from landfill. The performance of the Dublin Waste to Energy facility also means that 600,000 tonnes per annum have not been exported to other European countries or landfilled and instead the waste was converted to energy locally. Therefore, Ireland has become much more self-sufficient as a result of the Dublin Waste to

Ringsend Library redesign meeting

Kirkwood said one of the main things they noticed in relation to the library was how dominated the area had been by the main road and proposed changes there, he feels, would discourage speeding, including a tightening up of the bend and a narrowing of the carriageway to what they feel is “actually required.” Kirkwood also proposed a reducing of the embankment on the road by around 450mm/18 inches.

Thomas Russell of DMOD architects also provided a brief presentation on how how they visualised the inside of the library after the redesign.

Many locals raised their concerns about some aspects of the plans. Concerns were raised that the re-design may lead to mayhem with regard to deliveries to local shops and businesses. People also raised concerns about the effect some of the changes will have on traffic, and some safety and social issues were also raised.

The draft design plan can viewed here up until April 19th: https:// consultation.dublincity.ie/southeast-area/library-square-ringsend/.

Dublin City Council will consider submissions made by any person in relation to the draft design by Friday 19th April 2019.

Submissions can be made by email to southeast@dublincity.ie or in writing to: South East Area Office, Dublin City Council, Block 2, Floor 4, Civic Offices, Fishamble Street, Dublin 8.

A

n David Prendeville public meeting was held with regards to the re-design of Ringsend Library Square on March 21st in which MItchell + Associates presented their draft designs for a reimagined Library Square precinct for discussion and agreement.

Local residents, businesses, community groups and other interested parties were all invited to have their say. Dave Kirkwood, director of Mitchell + Associates, was the main speaker at the event.

He started proceedings off by giving a quick overview of the history of planning this redesign, while he was also keen to point out that unlike what has been claimed in some quarters recently, the building itself is not a protected structure, albeit a revered one. In looking at enlivening the square, a key element to them was reviving the building as the main feature within the square.

Some of the proposals put forward in Mitchell + Associates design were the creation of more facilities in the library such as a children’s section, a meeting space,

a reading space, a public toilet and staff facilities.

Also suggested was the replacement of the trees that are currently there with new ones, which the developers feel would mean the square had less shaded areas.

It was also suggested that the current front of the library would become an emergency exit, with the public entrance now on the other side, facing Fitzwilliam Street.

The main speaker at the meeting, Kirkwood argued that this would have a very positive effect on the the view from Fitzwilliam Street.

It also proposed that parking spaces would be created at what is the current front of the library, with a cycle lane on the road at the front of the library, with cycle parking and a water feature on the south part of the square.

A link to Ringsend Park is also being proposed on the north side of the square, with Kirkwood emphasising the link between the square and the park and how this would be positive for the area in the future, with the space as a whole being a pedestrian area.

Energy facility.”

Mr. Daly went on to say that, “The generation of renewable energy from residual waste has helped Ireland to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions and correspondingly reduce its dependence on fossil fuels as an energy source. I want to congratulate the team here in Dublin Waste to Energy, who continuously ensure we are out-performing the original expectations of the facility and continue to operate in a safe and efficient environment.”

Covanta is a world leader in providing sustainable waste and

energy solutions. Annually, Covanta’s modern Energy-fromWaste facilities safely convert approximately 22 million tons of waste from municipalities and businesses into clean, renewable electricity to power one million homes and recycle over 600,000 tons of metal. Through a vast network of treatment and recycling facilities, Covanta also provides comprehensive industrial material management services to companies seeking solutions to some of today’s most complex environmental challenges. For more information, visit covanta.com.

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Page 28

IGB site: New housing development likely to exclude most locals

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Peter McNamara he Irish Glass Bottle Site has a long history in Ringsend. For over a hundred years it was a place of work and prosperity, where three generations of a family might find themselves gainfully employed.

After the closure of the Irish Glass Bottle Company in 2002, and the demolition of its factory, the empty land that emerged became the subject of greed and of grand promises made and broken.

More recently, real progress seemed to have been made to finally put this undeveloped site to use, in a manner somewhat consistent with the needs and wants of the local community.

The Poolbeg Special Development Zone (SDZ) deal of May 2017 may yet be the latest casualty of this benighted wasteland.

Negotiations to save the site are ongoing, but their likely outcome is far from clear.

When taken together, the recent history of the “Glass Bottle Site” encapsulates much of the recent history of Dublin, and Ireland as a whole. From boom to bust, from the Troika to the vulture funds, and on to the current housing crisis, the forces that have influenced the fate of this undeveloped site are the same ones that have shaped the Ireland we find today.

What’s clear is that the future of the Poolbeg SDZ is revealing of the direction that this city and this republic is headed.

n

Ringsend: A bottle-making powerhouse It was once said that “a Ringsender may travel the length and breadth of Ireland, be it west, east, north or south, be it in a guesthouse, hotel, public house, church or meeting hall, and he or she will always get a reminder of their beloved town of Ringsend that’s there in the presence of a glass container.”

Glass bottles were made in Ringsend for over 200 years.

The first bottle company was set up on Charlotte Quay in 1787

by an English firm, to cater to the French market.

Other glass factories located in Ringsend included Fitzwilliam Street, Fitzwilliam Quay, and Scotch Alley. By 1870 there were five glass works in Ringsend. One specialised in supplying bottles to Guinness, for their stout.

Ringsend was a good location for making glass. Glass manufacturers needed a lot of sand, of which the area had plenty.

They also needed huge amounts of coal to melt the sand, so it was advantageous to be near the port.

The Hibernian Bottle Factory depended on Sandymount Strand for their sand, which they stockpiled at the back of the Star of the Sea church. In this day and age such sand would not be suitable – Waterford Crystal imports their sand from Holland and Belgium.

During the Great Depression business waned, and the final two bottle-making companies in Ringsend closed their doors and quenched their fires. In 1930 the Ringsend Bottle Company and the Irish Glass Bottle Company became subsumed into the Irish Glass Bottle Co. Ltd, under the ownership of Joseph McGrath and Joseph Griffin.

The Irish Glass Bottle Co. Ltd. Moving with the times, this renewed Irish Glass Bottle Company switched to a one-furnace system, and single-head, semi-automatic bottle making equipment. By the 1960s the company was operating four glass furnaces, as well as a variety of glass-forming machines.

In the 1970s the Irish Glass Bottle Company, with its subsidiary Waterford Glass, had

a combined payroll of almost 5,000 – making it one of the largest companies in the state.

In Ringsend up to 1,200 people were employed. The company gave a large amount of longterm employment and stability to the community around the area.

The company’s employee clubs were a large part of the local social fabric. One club was located at Roebuck Lodge, Goatstown. Another stood on Irishtown Road, and was known as the Bottlemakers Hall or Dolphin House. Erected in 1915, this club had a large hall, six billiard tables, as well as facilities for bingo, dancing and socialising. The hall was placed on the Dublin City Council’s protected structure list in December 1980, for its architectural, historical, and social importance.

In 1989 the Irish Glass Bottle Co. Ltd. was taken over by Ardagh Glass, a Luxembourg-based producer of glass and metal products. From then on the company became Ardagh PLC. After years of waning employment and output, in 2002 Ardagh Glass announced the closure of the plant, with a loss of 375 jobs. They blamed the closure on the workforce, claiming it had failed to implement changes to work practices.

Trade union representatives disputed this and said they’d been in talks with the company until the very end. At the time, Mick Duffy of the Technical, Engineering and Electrical Union identified a lack of investment and inability to have meaningful negotiations as the main reasons for the company’s failure. The closure brought mass unemployment and hardship to the Ringsend area.

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Since Ardagh PLC decided to close the Glass Bottle plant, it has continued to expand abroad.

As of this year, it operates 89 facilities in 21 countries, employs approximately 19,000 people, and sees more than €4.7 billion in annual revenue.

From boom to bust and back again When the Irish Glass Bottle Company closed in 2002, the factory was soon torn down.

The vacant site which emerged went on to embody the rise and fall (and rise again) of Ireland’s property-driven economy.

In 2006, the Dublin Port Company sold the site for €412 million to Becbay Ltd., a consortium led by Bernard McNamara, Derek Quinlan, and the Stateowned Dublin Docklands Development Authority (DDDA).

Anglo-Irish Bank lent €288 million for the deal. Its chairman, Séan Fitzpatrick, sat on the board of the DDDA, and DDDA chairman Lar Bradshaw served as a director of Anglo. At the time, the value of Dublin 4 land seemed infinite. In fact, it had reached its peak.

In 2009, the DDDA valued the Glass Bottle site at just €50 million. In 2012 Becbay bought it for €30 million – which represented just over 7% of its peak price. That same year NAMA would appoint receivers to Becbay, and the Environment Minister Phil Hogan would announce the DDDA’s abolition; its assets and remit were finally transferred to Dublin City Council in 2016.

April / May 2019

The adjoining 11-acre site, once owned by Fabrizia Developments, was grouped with the former IGB site, and in May 2016 Council Chief Executive Owen Keegan secured a Strategic Development Zone (SDZ) designation from then Minister Alan Kelly. The SDZ included not only the Glass Bottle and Fabrizia sites, but also areas to the north and east controlled by Dublin Port.

It’s also of note that when the site was sold to Becbay in 2012 Dublin City Council only received a one-third share of the sale price of that land which it owned, due to a legal loophole.

With that in mind, the IGB site is a remarkable showcase for the greed, the recklessness, and the seemingly collusive regulation that drove the boom and caused the recession.

Communities and corporations: The SDZ today As of March 2019, the SDZ is a scene of renewed controversy.

On Saturday March 3rd over a hundred members of the Irish Glass Bottle Housing Action Group (IGBHAG) demonstrated outside the site. Last summer the future of the “Glass Bottle Site” was clear. Now, locals are fighting to save what was, even then, a compromise deal.

It’s a curious thing: having already seen both the proud roar and the final death rattle of the Celtic Tiger, the Poolbeg Special Development Zone has once again come to typify the state of Ireland today.

There are many competing parties interested in the site.

NAMA, the site’s receiver Deloitte, the government, Dublin City Council, Dublin Port, and the Glass Bottle Action Group each have a vision for the best use of the land. And, given the housing crisis we find ourselves in, and the social and moral questions it raises, each differ-

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April / May 2019

ing vision for the SDZ can be said to be a differing vision for Dublin and Ireland itself.

Moreover, the closeness of the SDZ to Grand Canal Dock, with its global technology giants, throws into sharp relief the inequality between the often-overlooked Ringsend/Irishtown areas and those affluent global powerhouses, with their incomprehensible (and largely untaxed) annual turnover. Small businesses stand in the shadow of ever-rising skyscrapers. Ordinary hard-working people watch the available land remaining in these areas fill with hotel and apartment complexes, priced at boom-time levels.

This is part of the reason why the Irish Glass Bottle Housing Action Group formed. The group first met in 2016, soon after the SDZ was declared. When it came to deciding what was to be done with the housing allocation of Minister Kelly’s SDZ, the Action Group wanted to make local needs and concerns felt.

Their vision for the site is an inspiring one. In their policy document, they say they’re fighting not only for the future of the community but for a legacy to leave for future generations.

They talk about a “New Concept in Urban Living”, a more balanced approach to development planning, which has already seen great results in the German cities of Hamburg and Munich.

This concept is designed to be of benefit for many, whether they are on the social housing list, are in need of assisted living accommodation, or are young families/single people looking to buy an affordable home with a reasonable mortgage, in order to settle in a community and put down roots.

When they were first negotiating the now-endangered 2017 SDZ Deal, the Action Group argued for a mixture of 25% market-led housing, 25% social housing, 25% housing association dwellings and 25% affordable/co-housing schemes. Unfortunately, this approach was not to be followed.

Mocking democracy and ghettoising Dublin The SDZ deal eventually settled upon and approved by An Bord Pleanála comprises 900 social/affordable units out of 3,500, which represents just over 25% of the total. At the time, it was seen as a fair com-

promise. Last April, the receiver Deloitte launched an appeal with An Bord Pleanála against that compromise social/affordable allocation. It’s a clear act of bad faith.

The receiver’s own 3,500 unit total was raised by Councillors from the initially mandated 2,500 on the understanding that 900 social units would be delivered. Deloitte is acting with complete disregard for those democratically elected officials, and the people they represent.

It’s the kind of arrogant behaviour you’d expect from a developer or banker back before the crash. If Deloitte’s appeal is granted, and they are allowed take advantage from their dishonesty, you’d have to wonder whether we’ve learned enough from the painful mistakes of the recent past, and if we’re headed for trouble again.

In fact, the decision that comes from the An Bord Pleanála appeal, and the parallel City Council negotiations, could be telling not only of the future of social housing in Ringsend, but the fate of Dublin’s entire social housing model.

Recent comments by Dublin City Council’s Head of Housing, Brendan Kenny, should cause concern. Kenny said there “appeared to be a misconception that affordable housing would be available in sites throughout central Dublin, as in the previous affordable housing scheme that was discontinued in 2011.” He went on to add that any housing built under the new affordable purchase scheme in the coming years would be concentrated in the already largely social housing suburbs of Ballymun, Darndale and Cherry Orchard.

What’s more, given the situation at Capital Dock – where the mandated social housing allocation at that luxury apartment development was outsourced to sites in far-flung Rialto – future developments might become anti-socially exclusive.

The long-standing policy of mixed housing developments in Dublin is something to be proud of. It’s hard to find a middleclass neighbourhood that isn’t closely located to one based on social housing, and vice versa.

There are of course exceptions to this, but for the most part, Dublin has avoided going the way of Paris or London, and prevented the concentration of

LOCAL / HOUSING

less well-off people and families in peripheral areas.

Kevin Humphries, the Labour councillor and former TD, who has been fighting since 1999 for a fair deal for the Glass Bottle site, takes a grim view of this kind of ghettoisation. “You see what’s been happening in other European capitals. By pushing disadvantaged people out to the fringes of a city, you break down social integration. Mixed developments are good for everyone. They make for a rounded community.”

Given the rise of populism and fascist racial ideas, this kind of inter-mingling might be more important than ever. It’s hard to dehumanise a person for their background or ethnicity when they live only a few streets away.

A prism for the past, and future The Glass Bottle site has a long history in Ringsend. What was once a place of prosperity has since turned into a scene of loss. And now, given the dishonesty and disregard shown by the receiver over the SDZ deal, the site is now turning into a place of insult.

From its wild over-valuation, to its rock-bottom sale, the Glass Bottle Site has come to represent much of what is wrong with modern Ireland. And the future of the site may be telling of the future of this city and this country.

It remains to be seen whether the government will favour its wealthier citizens and multinational corporations over the ordinary Ringsend tax payer.

Ringsend and Irishtown are home to proud communities, each with a rich history. Due to the demand for housing in these areas – which is greatly aggravated by the arrival of the high tech industry in neighbouring

Page 29 Grand Canal Dock – the price of housing is double that of the Dublin City average, and 3.5 times the national average.

Locals are being priced out of the neighbourhoods they grew up in, and are now being seemingly cheated out of a development deal that was a compromise on their part in the first place.

Building works will bring a 10-year imposition of noise and traffic – and that’s before a surging population puts pressure on already stretched amenities.

There is an alternative. If Deloitte’s dishonest planning appeal causes the SDZ development deal to collapse, and if the government, the developers, and Dublin City Council are unwilling to build social housing on the site, there are many voluntary bodies that would be glad to step into the breach.

The Irish Glass Bottle Housing Action Group has previously been in contact with the Iveagh Trust, Tuath, Nabco and Cluid.

Voluntary bodies have done great work across the country to deliver high-quality affordable housing – a development of 57

such houses was built in Poolbeg in 2005.

The wrangling around the Glass Bottle Site is revealing of the priorities of the government, and the moral standards set for businesses and developers alike.

At a time when we need stronger local government, more in tune with the needs of ordinary people, councillors are being openly flaunted.

If a policy of ghettoisation is allowed to get underway, and if Dublin becomes a city in which only the rich can afford to live, one has to wonder what will become of the discourse and culture in our nation’s capital. This fair city will be anything but.

Page 28, top: The original Irish Glass Bottle factory, circa 1900.

(Copyright unknown. Published

by UCD Digital Archives.)

Page 28, bottom: Members of the Irish Glass Bottle Housing Action Group pictured at a housing protest last year.

This page: A message from one of the local children as part of the “Pillow Case Protest”.

Photos except first courtesy Peter McNamara.

LOCAL ELECTION CANDIDATES

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Local Election Candidates

www.newsfour.ie

April / May 2019

n Eoin Meegan With the upcoming local elections this May, NewsFour invited all of the area’s declared and potential candidates to respond to the same set of questions regarding being your representative and responses to specific questions regarding the community and some of its issues. Everyone was invited to participate. Only three were non responders; Claire O’Connor (FF), Linda O’Shea Farren (FG) and Mannix Flynn. The questions are as follows:

1: As a councillor you’re a local representative. What precisely are your powers, and how do you intend to implement these? 2: Why did you join your chosen party, or opt to be independent? 3: What are your views on the Irish Glass Bottle site, and on Social Housing needs? What actions will you take / how will you make yourself heard on it? 4: How do you feel about the Bus Connects proposals for the local routes? And the city’s future transport plans? 5: What are your views on the rapid development of the area for residents and local businesses? 6: What makes you frustrated, and what makes you happy?

Dermot Lacey Labour

Cllr. Dermot Lacey – Labour candidate for Pembroke South Dock Dermot Lacey is one of the most experienced members of Dublin City Council serving this area since 1993 and was Lord Mayor in 2002-2003. He is a former Chairperson of the Housing, Social and Community Affairs Policy Committee and the Arts and Youth Committee. He was Chairperson of the Dublin Regional Authority and the Southern and Eastern Regional Assembly and Cathaoirleach of the new Eastern and Midlands Regional Assembly. He is the only person to have served in all three posts.

Dermot has been a Councillor since 1993 and is Leader of the Labour Group. He is a Board member of the Royal Hospital Voluntary Housing Association, the Dublin Town - Business Improvement District Scheme and of several local community development Boards. He was a founder member of the Beech Hill Housing Initiative and co-founded the popular NewsFour Newspaper. Dermot is Chairperson of Ringsend College and a former Chairperson of Ballsbridge College. He is a member of the Dublin City VEC/Education and Training Board and was a member of the Dublin Docklands Development Council where he proposed the introduction of the 20% Social and Affordable Housing requirement in the Docklands area a move that was followed by legislation across the State for all developments. He served on the UCD Governing

Hazel Chu Green Party

Hazel Chu - Green Party candidate for Pembroke South Dock Born and raised in Ireland, I currently live with my daughter Alex and my fiancé Patrick in Pembroke. A graduate of UCD, I went on to study law in Kings Inns and was called to the Bar in 2007, after which I worked in Sydney, Guilin and New York and was awarded a Fellowship by UCD Smurfit. For a number of years I ran our family's food business which consisted of four restaurants and also held the position of Head of Communications and Project Manager for Diageo. Currently, I am the National Coordinator for the Green Party, Chair of the Executive Committee, as well as their Spokesperson for Enterprise. In my spare time I advocate on issues of diversity and equality on various media platforms.

1: One of the most important items a city councillor gets to feed into on the council is the city development plan. To ensure that we have a sustainable city we must ensure that the plan is future proofed, this includes proper provision and planning for housing, transport, community. It is essential that we have more Green voices on the council to ensure that we build a sustainable city for our generation and the ones to come.

Cllr Claire Byrne Green Party

Cllr Claire Byrne - Green Party candidate for South East Inner City.

As a Dublin city county councillor, I am working to deliver in the areas I promised during the elections in environment, waste, housing, planning, arts, culture and transport. I am also working to ensure that economic, social, political and environmental sustainability is placed at the core of the decision making process on how our city develops now and in the future.

1: Our main responsibilities as Councillors is to oversee and adopt the annual budget and area discretionary funds, make, amend and revoke City bye laws, create and vary the City Development Plan, influence policy development on housing, transport and public realm improvements etc and ultimately to represent the needs of our communities. My aim has always been to use these powers, even if they are somewhat limited, to create a liveable, accessible, clean, green and more sustainable City. I would like to see significant Local Government Reform and to devolve more power to Councils, but there doesn’t seem to be the political will at a national level to deliver that.

2: I have been involved with the Green Party and working in politics for 15 years. My background is in Environmental Science and activism, so it was

Authority 2014-2019. He has published proposals “A Fair City – One Dublin Many Dubliners". He is a life-long member of the Scout Movement and recently published "All the Red Ties" – the history of Donnybrook Scout Group.

1: As a Councillor I can use my "Reserved Powers" to direct Council Officials to take actions that are of benefit to Dublin and my Area. These include powers in relation to budgetary allocations. However, most of the "powers" are through persuasion and negotiation and knowing how best to use the various systems and structures. Helping to deliver the new playground at Sean Moore Park was for example through co-operation between Councillors, the Sandymount Tidy Towns Committee and the Community Gain Fund Committee. Delivering new Social and Affordable Housing in Donnybrook was through knowledge of how the system works and delivering the agreement on the 900 new social and affordable homes on the Poolbeg area was through political tenacity. Delivering them will require political obstinacy. Councillors regularly complain about lack of powers and real Local Government in Ireland and they are right… but we do have soft power that I hope I have learned to use well on behalf of the Area and of Dublin.

2: I chose Labour partially through my older brothers involvement and my Dad’s commitment to sensible trade unionism. I stayed through the many years that Ruairi Quinn represented the area as his record of delivery to Dublin South East and Ireland is second to none and I have remained because as a social democrat I believe that Labour is best placed to deliver the values of fairness and decency that I am committed to.

3: I helped negotiate the Agreement for 900 Social and Affordable

homes on the IGB site at Poolbeg with the then Minister for Housing Simon Coveney along with Cllr Doolin and the then Lord Mayor Brendan Carr. I expect it to be honoured and delivered and will use every ounce of my political strength to make sure it is delivered.

4: The principles behind Bus Connects are correct but the devil is in the detail. We have to ensure that there is sufficient public transport to and through our local villages. That is what keeps communities and trade alive. I passionately believe that Dublin needs a single Dublin Transportation Authority to take over from the many disconnected public bodies who all have their own vested interest approach to traffic. That should be under the direction of a new Dublin Regional Authority with a directly elected Mayor for Dublin.

5: This regeneration and intensive development is similar to developments in inner suburban areas all over the developed world. What we need to do is to learn from other countries. We need to ensure that there is real community involvement in strategic planning and that real community gain stems from developments. I have helped achieve this through planning conditions attached to the Aviva Stadium and the Covanta incinerator for example. The critical thing for our area is the delivery of Social and Affordable Housing as part of any new developments and in my view, Sandymount in particular, needs a community meeting place. That, for example, could be achieved in partnership with the Educate Together school at Roslyn Park.

6: This is easy, bureaucracy and public officials who don't put the interests of the citizen first make me angry and frustrated. My family and my many happy memories of great scouting events make me happy.

2: I am the National Coordinator, Chair of Executive and Spokesperson for Enterprise for the Green Party. I spent a long time deciding on a party, I wanted a party which aligned with my views on economics, social justice and climate change, ultimately the Greens were the ones who reflected my values.

3: We are now over 10,000 homeless in Ireland. We seem to have made a practice of putting our homeless in hotels and our tourists in houses via Airbnb. We simply need to do better. The only way to do that is build. We have viable developable land all over Dublin. Even in our own backyard we were promised 900 social and affordable housing in the Irish Glass Bottle site but the receivers are in the process of repealing this agreement by putting in an appeal to an Bord Pleanála. Dublin City Council and its councillors had to compromise with the then Minister of Housing Simon Coveney to deliver the 900 units. This would have greatly increased the sense of community of the area instead of having multiple one bedroom apartments to facilitate individuals who are in transit from working multinationals. However, since the agreement, another Minister has stepped into place and the decision is being appealed by the receivers. Ultimately, the losers in this scenario are the individuals on the housing list, the community of Ringsend, the kids who have hung up art on the site asking where should they sleep at night yet the Minister responsible for them is nowhere to be seen. What needs to be done is support for the Irish Glass Bottle Housing Action Group. A series of questions presented to Minister Eoghan Murphy on why a previously agreed workable solution is now being reneged on and we must also ask if the current regulation of only 10% social and affordable housing on site is fit for purpose in a city that currently has thousands waiting to be housed.

4: From the Green Party and my perspective we need a proper vision for Dublin as a city in regards to transport, this must include motorists, pedestrians, cyclists and public transport. As it stands, we have over 40-odd groups and voices that look after various forms of transport in the city, why not have one? We have the National Transport Authority but we don’t have a connected vision for the future for Dublin. The current Bus Connects proposals are good ones with travel times for local routes being halved if implemented but we need to go a step further, how do we connect up the overall city and ensure that we have proper infrastructure that can withstand a growing city for the next 50 years and not just 5 to 10.

5: I think growth is good but we need to retain a sense of community for the residents. For example, development of 3,500 apartments on the Irish Glass Bottle site, many of which are one bedroom would not encourage community building and would actually increase traffic and resource pressure on the current community.

This is where a good city development plan comes in, we need to start seeing our city as a whole while looking at communities individually and see where we can improve the health and wellbeing for those who reside and grow the community.

Just because you have a growing city doesn’t mean you need to sacrifice individual communities, you need to plan for them and ensure that it’s properly integrated.

6: I think my answers may already show what makes me frustrated – bad planning, and possibly my 16 month old toddler throwing tantrums. I’m happiest when I’m able to fix something, I’ve always been the fixer in my family and at work (I trained as a barrister, worked in crisis management and communications and then project management for site development).

And walking along Sandymount Strand jumping into puddles with my toddler on a sunny day, Dublin can be spectacular on a sunny day!

a natural step for me to get involved with them as their values and policies match my own. There is no other political party for me and I am very proud to be a Green Party elected representative and I hope to continue to be so after May this year.

3: The current council, of which I am a member, agreed on 900 social and affordable homes for the Poolbeg West SDZ development, and these simply have to be delivered. I fully support the local residents and their campaign.

I have attended many meetings with them, joined their protests and action events, and have raised the issue in the Council and in the Dail with my colleague Eamon Ryan TD a number of times. I think this is an ideal site for a cost rental scheme that is affordable. Throughout the SDZ process I also ensured that we increased the number of three bed homes on the site so that we can provide housing for families, and secured agreement that 5% of the development would go to cultural, community and creative purposes, including 40 artists' studios, which is unprecedented in the City. Obviously the decision on the scheme is with An Bord Pleanála at the moment, but the Minister for Housing has a responsibility to ensure these homes are funded and to come up with an affordable scheme to deliver that element, but he doesn’t seem to be taking any action. The delays are inexcusable. It is absolutely crucial that we develop a long term, mixed use sustainable community on the Poolbeg West sites. I think the SDZ will provide that and I am fully committed to delivering that.

4: For decades we have underinvested in public transport in the City, and indeed the whole country, with successive Governments prioritising building roads over public transport, cycling and pedestrian infrastructure. This is still happening while traffic in the City is getting worse and our transport emissions

keep increasing. The Bus Connects project is not without its flaws and challenges, particularly in the Ringsend / Irishtown area, but hopefully through the public consultation process they can be worked out. I do believe that these are the kind of big, brave and somewhat radical projects we need to deliver, along with better cycling and pedestrian infrastructure, in order to get people out of cars and into more sustainable modes of transport. I believe that by providing efficient, affordable and healthier alternatives, we can our reduce our transport related carbon emissions, create a healthier city and secure a more sustainable future for everyone.

5: There is no doubt there is significant large scale development taking place in the area and across the City, and this is having a real impact on the residents. While it’s good to see vacant land being built on, I think the biggest issue is that what is being built is mostly offices, hotels, student accommodation, and short term rentals. We are not building any housing or creating sustainable communities or supporting local indigenous businesses. This flies in the face of our housing, development, economic and planning policy, and in my mind is creating a transient, homogenous city, which is very worrying.

It seems we are back to the days of developer led planning and it is incredibly frustrating.

6: Things can move very slowly in the Council, and that can be very frustrating. Influencing and changing policy on how we plan and develop our City in a more sustainable way, and helping people by making small changes that can make a big difference to their lives is important to me. Achieving those is what makes me happy and is one of the main reasons a Councillor’s role can be fulfilling and hugely rewarding.

www.newsfour.ie

Danny Byrne Fine Gael

April / May 2019

Danny Byrne – Fine Gael candidate for South East Inner City Danny Byrne – Fine Gael. Originally from Donegal, but in Dublin since 2005. My background is hotel management, but I recently moved to an estate agent practice.

1: The key power that I believe good councillors have is forming a good relationship with the relevant officials who deal with the key issues on the ground and then being able to use that relationship to deliver the improvements that people want. So I expect that if elected my first months as a councillor will be focussed on building a relationship with officials who deal with issues important to South East Inner City such as housing, parking, traffic management and street cleaning. Another key power

Cllr Chris Andrews Sinn Féin

Cllr. Chris Andrews – Sinn Féin candidate for South East Inner City Chris has been involved in community development work in the South Inner City, working with residents’ associations, environmental groups, charities and local community projects focused on Homelessness and Mental Health. He is an active member of a number of local sports clubs and is a founding member of the ‘Friends of the Grand Canal’. Chris was central in setting up the Ringsend/Irishtown Darkness into Light Walk which has raised, in two years, over €200,000 for Pieta House and suicide awareness. Chris has been involved in international activism since his teenage years and has long campaigned on matters relating to overseas aid and development,

Sarah Durcan Social Democrats

Sarah Durcan – Social Democrats candidate for Dublin South East Inner City.

Global Ops Manager for Science Gallery International, Abbey Theatre board member, a leader of #WakingTheFeminists campaign, and former theatre producer. https://www.socialdemocrats.ie/our-people/sarah-durcan/ @sarahdurcan

1: Councillors develop the vision and policy framework for the city, including the City Development Plan. Our responsibilities, or reserved functions, include: adopting the annual budget, making and amending local byelaws, approving borrowings and council land sales. I believe my role is to represent the people of Dublin South East Inner City, to work in partnership with local communities, and ensure the council delivers good quality services and improved quality of life for citizens.

Elizabeth Watson Fianna Fáil

Elizabeth Watson – Fianna Fáil candidate for South Inner City Ward.

I grew up in the Pearse Street area and continue to live there. Both my parents, Betty and Peter Watson, also grew up in the area. As a family we are very actively involved in the life of our community.

In particular I have volunteered with youth football teams, Greenore Senior Citizen’s Centre and many local heritage projects about the area.

For many years I have worked as a Social Worker with experience supporting people through homelessness and with housing issues. I completed my Social Work Masters with UCD and my Masters in Management with DCU. I will do my upmost to bring my life experience and professional skills to benefit the community.

If elected I will focus on individual needs and: Local initiatives; Community services and resources including health and transport; Local housing for local people; Fairer rents and rental issues; Local heritage;

LOCAL ELECTION CANDIDATES

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for a councillor is garda liaison; there are serious problems with crime in parts of my area and the councillors need to focus gardaí resources on tackling this and encouraging greater visibility of community gardaí and improved response times.

2: I have always been a Fine Gael supporter and have worked closely with some excellent public representatives both here in Dublin and in Donegal.

3: It is clearly essential that a considerable number of housing units are provided on that site. I am aware of arguments that it should be either largely private or largely, if not exclusively, social housing, neither of which I support. My own view is that there needs to be a mix. However, as I know from canvassing doors, there is a large demand for social housing in Ringsend and there has to be a meaningful contribution to meeting this demand. If elected as a councillor, I will be focussed on achieving this while also ensuring that the development is financially soundly based.

4: BusConnects does not seem to have much of an impact

on the area I am contesting. There are some issues such as bus services being taken off South Circular Road. In practice being able to walk or cycle to work safely is the transport priority in the area. I would be broadly supportive of the need for more commuters to use the bus or train instead of their cars.

5: In principle, it seems good that there is rapid residential development in the area. However, I would have concerns that either the quality is poor or that the residents are highly transient, as neither is good for the area. I do have concerns about excessive development of hotels and student accommodation in the inner city area.

6: As a resident of the inner city all the time I have been in Dublin, I am frustrated by the comparative lack of focus by the city authorities on the areas within the canal, so far as residents are concerned. On the plus side, I am happy that there is huge vibrancy in the area, which makes it quite an attractive place to live in terms of things like restaurants, gyms and theatre/cinema facilities.

inequality and injustice throughout the world. He has been particularly active on matters relating to Palestine, Nicaragua and Gambia. He is a member of the Council’s Housing Committee and the South Inner City Drugs Task Force. He holds a BA in Community and Youth Work from NUI Maynooth.

1: My powers are the same as all other Councillors and if elected I will use them to represent the community as best I can.

2: I am very happy in Sinn Féin because Sinn Féin takes sides.

Sinn Féin clearly takes the side of working people and those struggling in life and does not try to be all things to all people.

3: I have been very vocal on one of the most defining issues for Ringsend and Pearse Street and was one of the Councillors who reached agreement with this Government to provide 900 social and affordable on the site. I have worked with and will continue to work with the local housing Action Group. I will continue to hold Government to account.

4: We need change and the proposals are good in theory but,

like everything, the Devil is in the detail and I will work with residents to ensure we get the right balance for the Ringsend community.

5: I am very concerned about the rapid development in the area.

I can see Ringsend and Pearse Street being turned into Googletown and old families cannot afford to buy or rent in the area because of the rapidly increasing costs in the area because of deliberate Government inaction.

6: What makes you frustrated, and what makes you happy?

Answer: Editors of newspapers editing my comments to suit their narrative frustrates me. That the Four TD’s for Ringsend and Pearse Street are rarely seen in the area when there is not an election frustrates me. The lack of housing for the community, poor homelessness and mental health supports in the community makes me angry. When I see the community standing up for themselves that makes me happy. When I see that Sinn Fein makes a positive difference I am happy.

As an experienced board member for several non-profits, and an effective activist for gender equality in the arts, I have the governance skills to ensure the executive are held accountable, and that the council can make real progress on the big issues such as social housing.

2: It’s time for a new era of grown-up politics that deliver a better quality of life for all citizens. We can reimagine politics as true public service, service to benefit the entire community, service for inclusive progress and prosperity, service that respects everyone’s dignity and right to thrive throughout their life. For me, the party to deliver that is the Social Democrats, and why I’m running for a seat on Dublin City Council on May 24 to represent the people of Dublin South East Inner City. I’m particularly proud to be part of a party where more than half of our candidates in the upcoming election are women.

3: As a Social Democrats Councillor, my number one priority will be to ensure that Dublin City Council’s resources are dedicated to increased provision of social and affordable housing. We should use the extensive public land that is zoned for residential development in Dublin to build homes that are affordable to rent or buy, including at the Irish Glass Bottle site, and that those homes have sufficient public services, transport links, schools and recreation facilities. I will work positively and collaboratively

with the community, and my fellow councillors to ensure the executive are held to account on this.

4: There are merits to rethinking our bus system in the city, but not at the expense of those who have mobility issues. More dedicated cycle lanes are needed in the city. We must become a much less car-dependent city, while ensuring those who need to commute can access the city easily and affordably.

5: Development that supports innovation and jobs should be welcome in the city – but we need to rebalance the current overemphasis on large commercial developments like hotels and offices, and build houses and apartments and ensure local businesses and community amenities - playgrounds, sports fields, cultural facilities, green spaces - are intelligently integrated.

6: Frustrations: The level of entrenched homelessness and poverty in the city; Lack of action on climate change and our overreliance on plastics and carbon fuels; Inequality and intolerance of difference; What makes me happy: Working on projects/movements that bring about lasting positive change, such as #WakingTheFeminists and Repeal; experiencing the beauty and friendliness of the city while walking; Baking and sharing food with friends and family.

Better living spaces that are safe, clean and peaceful; Environmental issues. Mobile: 0877507650; email: watsonno12019@gmail.com

The Fianna Fail theme is “An Ireland for All”. I want to make sure that everyone, especially those most marginalised in society or powerless, are included in current government policies and future visions of the local area.

3: Regeneration is much needed in some areas of the community.

However, this regeneration must protect and preserve the local communities already existing in the area. There is dire need for local housing for local people for both now and in the future. There is also a need for better integration between the new builds and the local communities. If elected I would support the community in their current way of having their voice heard e.g. protests and public meetings, media and via the local county council.

4: We all recognise the importance of transport. The trend shows an increase in population over the next twenty years thus, as a knock on there will be an increase in vehicles. Already people are experiencing traffic congestion and worrying safety issues for cyclists who are often caught in the squeeze of a narrow road. However, compulsory purchase and the removal of community amenities cannot be the price paid for progress.

5: Our local communities are boundless in heritage and culture. It makes me very happy to see that shared and enjoyed in various ways around the community.

1: The key feedback from meeting residents in the local area is that they want their views represented by someone who understands them.

As a local person running for election this is precisely what I intend to do.

One of the most significant powers a councillor has is to influence policy. If elected I would ensure that I feedback the impact the policy decision is having on people’s lives. In particular I would highlight any negative impact of policy and seek that this is addressed. There is a great opportunity as a councillor to develop policies based on based on emergent need.

Communication with a variety of people is another power of a councillor. I plan to engage in productive discussion with people whether they are residents, traders, officials, community groups, or statutory agents.

2: As a family we have been activity involved in our local community for many years. Therefore, when I was approached to run for election it seemed a natural next step. I was fortunate enough to grow up surrounded by strong female community activists. They have been a role model for many local people. I would hope to also be a role model for the upcoming local community members.

Page 32

LOCAL ELECTION CANDIDATES

www.newsfour.ie

April / May 2019

Sonya Stapleton Independents4Change

Cllr. Sonya Stapleton – Independents4Change candidate for South East Inner City I am an Independents4Change councillor at Dublin City Council. I was elected at the last local elections in 2014. I have lived in the South East Inner City for the past 25 years. My family roots are from Ringsend and Bath Avenue. Before becoming elected I attended Trinity College and worked as a community employment supervisor in the area while raising my now 15 year old son. I am a member of the Unite in the Community and support people having the right to trade union membership in the workplace. I also support and will campaign for the right to a living wage, one which corresponds with real living costs and our national growth. This would raise the standard of living for all here in Ireland. I believe everyone has a right to an adequate standard of living and would like to see Dublin lead the way in becoming a living wage city. Through our Right2Change policy principles I believe that people are entitled to fundamental rights such as water, housing, education, decent jobs, Healthcare and debt justice. Furthermore as a society we must enact measures to achieve equality, a sustainable environment, democratic reform and the unequivocal right of the Irish people to own our country’s national resources.

1: As a Councillor I have reserved functions in the Planning and adopting of the city development plan and the budget for our city: Holding the management to account and highlighting issues my constituents have on housing, traffic, policing, environment in the council chamber meetings. Putting forward motions that benefit community, like securing funding for community groups, playgrounds, affordable childcare, the upgrade of our flat complexes etc...

2: I opted to be independent as I've yet to find a party that lives up to what they promise when they get elected. Far too many parties have done completely the opposite to what they say they will do. I would like to see a real alternative party that represents the people. A party that is passionate about sharing national wealth more equally, a party that understands people and their needs, not just economics. I really believe Ireland needs a fresh look at politics and fresh new policies. Why we keep voting in the same parties and expecting different results I will never know.

3: I am disgusted at the latest developments re the IGB site. As a local councillor I fought on the ground and in the council to secure as many Affordable/ Public houses as possible. It was agreed and voted on in the council that we would get 900 Public/Affordable housing units. Now the developer wants to go back on the agreement, confirming yet again the standard greed out there when it comes to private developers. I believe public land should be used for public housing as was the case in Ireland in the 50's and 60's. The O'Cualann housing project in Dublin has shown that Three Bedroom A Rated cost-rental houses can be built to a high standard for under €200,000 when built on public land. The government needs to speed up the procurement process to enable the council to build housing at a much faster rate. We await an Bord Pleanála

review of the case at present but I will continue to highlight this on the council and by standing with the community on protest or whatever other measure need to be taken so that the deal is honoured.

4: We have a growing city and if we don’t take steps to address our public transport system and traffic congestion the problems will only get worse. I appreciate that the plans do not suit everyone but overall I do believe it will make life easier for communities and commuters if it is done right. Taking into account the needs of elderly people and disabled people etc… I would also like to see the Metro link going ahead but not at the cost of people losing their homes or the proposed demolition of Markievicz swimming pool and Gym. I would really like to see another proposal in this respect.

5: My view is that residents and local businesses are getting left out.

The rapid development of the area is not inclusive. Meanwhile there are hotels, student accommodation, office blocks going up all over the city.

We need Public cost-rental/Affordable homes and schools, yet the government refuse to empower and finance councils to harness state land for public cost-rental housing. Instead they disgracefully sell off our land-banks to private developers who typically develop profit-maximising estates.

6: I’m frustrated that the government continue to ignore the fact that we have a housing crisis, thereby jacking up the cost of rents and housing. I’m happy that I get to represent people in my community and also when I get good results in the council that have a positive impact on the South East Area and across the wider city.

Annette Mooney People Before Profit

the local property tax because I believe this was an illegitimate tax that was forced on people. I want waste collection brought back into public ownership so we don’t have increased charges. I want Dublin City Council to get back to building social and affordable housing. I want it to ensure that vacant property does not sit idle for years while people are homeless. I want to ensure there is proper respect and repairs carried out for Council tenants. In other words, I will be an advocate for people’s rights and will monitor and question the actions of unelected officials.

2: As an independent you can achieve very little. We need a left wing council in Dublin that is really going to change how the city works.

That is a council that is not beholden to corporate interests but really serves the people. One of the things that I propose, for example, is that Dublin becomes a Wi-Fi Free Zone City. But to even get back small reform, you will need an organised group of councillors who are determined to push it through. A left wing political party also will ensure that you will not sell out. In People Before Profit, for example, we have a rule that no councillor can go on a junket. We are accountable to our members and supporters in a way that an individual cannot be.

3: I called a meeting two and a half years ago with Richard Boyd Barrett TD and from there a campaign was launched to use the Irish Glass Bottle site for social and affordable housing. In view of the housing crisis in Dublin, I thought that the site should be used for 3,500 social and affordable houses. Later a compromise proposal emerged to build 900 social and affordable houses. But even this promise is being undermined today as a game is played between Eoghan Murphy’s Department, the NAMA receiver [Deloitte] and Dublin City Council. This is a disgrace and I think that we should step up the protests. We should

vote out landlord parties like Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil whose policies have led to this disaster.

4: There are some good things in Bus Connects – not least the notion of a core bus corridor from Ringsend to Talbot Memorial Bridge. But, unfortunately, there is a wider agenda to this at play. There is a plan to create a number of corridors but this is not linked to an increase in the number of buses. After the Celtic Tiger collapse, nearly 300 buses were cut from the Dublin Bus fleet by the Fianna Fáil-Green government.

The first thing we should do is to restore those buses and increase the fleet. I am for Dublin moving to a system of free public transport so that we get people out of cars. But before you even cut fares you will need to increase the number of buses. So before we have any more ‘radical’ plans we need an increased bus fleet and cheaper fares.

5: There are a number of things to bear in mind if want to create a living city. We need to preserve and maintain public spaces. We need community, mural schemes, free drinking fountains to get rid of reliance on plastic bottled water, and proper monitoring to ensure we have clean air. Dublin City Council, however, are engaged in a strategy of clearing out the inner city and supporting the building of more hotels and expensive student hostels. We need re-generation of the inner city’s flat complexes whereas at the moment many face a problem of rat infestation because of all the building works nearby. I support a new policy on rates so that it is tied to turnover. This will mean that big retail outlets like Tesco should be forced to pay more in rates while the rates should be cut for small local business.

6: Frustrated: Dealing with smug right wing politicians who cannot speak the truth.

Happy: When people get off their knees and look for their rights.

but I will always do my best to represent them.

2: Over time I became unhappy with our governments and what was happening to Ireland and its people. I like many others voted for these parties thinking that they would make a difference, make changes, improvements for my family and my community, but it was the same speak from them and nothing changed. So while been disheartened with the government at the time I then looked around at other parties and I attended a Sinn Féin meeting, where I listened to what was been said and I learned that SF are the only party who are out knocking on doors and working in the community all year round and not just at election times. I believe with Sinn Fein in government that we can deliver on our election promises, I believe that we can do more on our housing, on our health, but we also all need to work together to achieve what our families, friends and our community needs. Sinn Féin’s policies endeavour to equally provide for all classes of our society.

3: Fine Gael has been saying that the housing crisis can only be solved by delivery.The previous Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government, Simon Coveney, gave a firm commitment to the delivery of 900 units on the IGB site, 350 social units and 550 affordable homes and this is written into the strategic development zone plan that is before An Bord Pleanála at the moment. My colleague Cllr Chris Andrew raised the issue at February’s council meeting regarding the social and affordable housing on the Glass Bottle site, expressing the worries that the community are having regarding the site due to the increase in land costs and construction costs.

The council management said that there will be no affordable or social housing on the Glass Bottle site unless the Government make the Glass Bottle site a "special case" this is a real worry as we don’t believe government will make a special case for Ringsend IGB site. The Manager indicated that there is going to be less and less social and affordable housing in Dublin Pearse Street and Ringsend unless the Government intervenes. The Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government, Deputy Eoghan Murphy, who is a resident in this community is in charge of housing and has a responsibility to deliver on the objectives of the SDZ, but he and his department are not doing so. His department is allowing the officials in Dublin City Council to choose off-site location for social housing.

This is not acceptable to the communities of Ringsend, Irishtown and Pearse Street and the Government must start to deliver on the objectives of the SDZ. The residents and their families have a right to social and affordable hous-

ing in their own area. Why should people have to move out of their communities to find affordable housing? Why should people have to live miles and miles from the rest of their families and lose out to landlords. I, along with my Sinn Féin colleagues in Dublin City Council and Dáil Éireann, will continue to fight and be a voice for the people in this community.

4: Bus Connect’s plans are to basically streamline the bus network in our city.

And while a few services may be improved others will suffer, or should I say, the public will suffer. For example, at the minute, someone wishing to travel from Ringsend to St. Vincent’s hospital only needs to take one bus. One of the proposed changes has that passenger take 3 buses to do the same trip. It’s ridiculous! The overall future transport plans are obviously designed to save money for the Government but at the cost of the public’s convenience. It is also shaping the public services up for privatisation, which will be disastrous.

5: I do understand that development is needed to improve our community, but it seems to be geared more towards the Googles and Facebooks of the world, providing for corporate structures rather than social structures. This Government claims to promote local economics but there doesn’t seem to be enough done to help local businesses to survive. Small local long-time established business in the area are now closed or closing due to the high cost in rents. They just can’t compete with the big companies. Just one example is at the moment from the top of Pearse street down to Irishtown we now no longer have a local butcher, the local everyday shops are disappearing bit by bit. The community now have to travel further afield to do their daily business, be it getting the shopping or attending the post office to collect their pensions / social welfare etc. It’s the same situation when it comes to property which come up for rent or sale in the area. Local people just can’t afford the prices that are been quoted because the corporate giants are snapping up as much as they can by bidding / offering unbelievable prices which the ordinary person cannot compete with.

6: Frustrated: the amount of red tape and hoops you have to go through, be it in the council or Dáil Eireann just to get a simple answer to a request or question. I know there is a process for everything but why does it take so long? Happy : when you see the relief and joy on the face of someone who you have been helping for months – knowing that you can make a difference to people’s lives even if it is only a small thing to you it could be a massive thing to them and that simple smile just says it all.

Annette Mooney – People Before Profit candidate for South East Inner City Annette Mooney has worked as a community nurse in the Dublin Bay South area before becoming a secondary school teacher in the area She is a mother of three children. She was one of the main figures in the Right2Water campaign in the constituency and helped organise marches. Annette was the founder of the Repeal the Eighth Dublin Bay south coalition group which returned the highest national YES vote. She also started the successful Irish Glass Bottle campaign for social affordable housing. She has hosted meetings on the need for rent controls and more social housing. She was one of the main figures in achieving Council Tenants right to access an independent complaint agency.

1: Local democracy is limited in Ireland because of the power of unelected officials. We have had, for example, an incinerator foisted on us because an unelected Chief Executive Officer pushed it through despite the fact that it only supported by two councillors while 52 voted against. However, there are some ‘reserved powers’ that councillors can exercise. They can amend a draft budget; they can help make decisions on housing policy; they have an input into waste management.

There are a number of things I want to do. I want to continually reduce

Susan Gregg Farrell Sinn Féin

Susan Gregg Farrell – Sinn Féin My parents belonged to established Ringsend families. My mum, Margaret Quinn, is from Pigeon House Road and my Dad, Edward Gregg is from Pembroke Cottages. I attended primary school in Ringsend’s Saint Patrick’s Girls School and then went onto Ringsend Technical College. We lived in Beggars Bush on the Shelbourne Road and then as the Ringsenders say we crossed the bridge and moved to Pearse Streets City Quay area. I’m a mother to one daughter Kathrina, and my professional background is in the construction industry enforcing Health & Safety regulations for onside crews. It was this expertise that led me to discover and expose faults in the apartments in the Docklands. After setting up a working group of neighbours and leading a long seven-year fight, we finally got the apartments in Gallery Quay renovated and brought up the building standards. As a lifelong activist on community issues I am passionate about equality and fairness for all the people of Dublin East Inner City.

1: Councillors are responsible for policy-making, with implementation of their decisions resting with the city or county manager. Power is shared between the council and an appointed executive official known as the Chief Executive. Councillors' powers are many and varied which include adopting the annual budget, setting the commercial rate, land zoning, making or varying a development plan, making or changing bye-laws, and approving council land sales etc. Councillors help decide how and where Dublin City Council finances are spent in various departments, such as Housing, Maintenance, Local Parks / Recreational, Street Furniture etc. As an elected official it is my duty to ensure all decisions are made in the best interests of the community. For me to implement this I will continue to hold my public clinics in the Ringsend / Irishtown Community Centre every second Thursday between 7pm and 8pm, and where needs be dropping into visit residents in their homes who make contact but can’t make my clinics. I will represent each individual or group with whatever issue they bring to my attention be it a personal or public issue to the best of my capabilities. I never promise anything to the people or the community,

www.newsfour.ie

April / May 2019

Cllr Paddy McCartan Fine Gael

Cllr. Paddy McCartan – Fine Gael candidate for Pembroke South Dock I grew up in Ballsbridge and was educated in Marian College. I have worked all my life as an Optician both in Baggot Street and in Ringsend.

Having retired from practice I am now a full time Public Representative. I have served on Dublin City Council as an elected Representative since 2007. I am currently a member of both The Transport and Finance strategic policy committees.

I am also on the board of the Royal Hospital Donnybrook and a member of the Joint Policing Commit-

Maria Bohan Fianna Fáil

Maria Bohan – Fianna Fail candidate for South East Inner City.

I am a local from Ringsend where my family continue to operate a business. I have studied Diploma in Justice Studies and a Diploma in Sign Language. I am a big fan of Dublin GAA Football team and I go to as many matches away and home as I possibly can. I help and support active retirement groups, community welfare providers, local clubs and residents' groups in the local area.

1: As an elected local representative you have a number of powers and duties from contributing to policies and strategies to setting budgets, to taking part in decisions on planning etc. but central to the job for me is the privilege of representing the people, being a vital link between the council and the wide range of interest groups and individuals in the local community. As a councillor I want to be a key influencer and to be able to have a leadership role in developing strong community engagement with all stakeholders in the area. To be a well recognized voice in promoting the unique identities of our proud communities in the

James Geoghegan Fine Gael

James Geoghegan – Fine Gael Husband to Claire from Sandymount, father and practicing barrister with a decade of experience working in law and politics, including US Congress, EU Commission and the Banking Inquiry.

1: If elected, as a member of Dublin City Council, I would have a number of what are called ‘reserved functions’. The most important parts of those functions are adopting the annual budget, varying the basic rate of the Local Property Tax by +/15%, setting the level of commercial rates to be charged; borrowing money; deciding to dispose of land held by the local authority; making, amending or revoking of bye-laws; and making a development plan.

Those are my legal powers, but I want to use the power of local government to help enhance communities, and particularly community groups that volunteer their time to contribute to the betterment of their neighbours and the environment around them. I want to be a councillor that can bring together

Kevin Donoghue Labour

Kevin Donoghue – Labour candidate for South East Inner City Kevin is an active member of his community in Ringsend and is a trustee of his local residents association. He works as a Trade Union organiser supporting vulnerable workers in employments across the country.

1: A councillor’s official role is largely in setting policy on housing, roads, sanitation, planning and environment. The precise powers are outlined in the Local Government Reform Act 2014. The powers of councillors were significantly curtailed in recent years but there are still a few reserved functions. Having said that politics is the art of the possible and the bulk of the work is done behind the scenes and out of sight. I would like to see the council move back to basics and focus on the provision of housing and clean, green, safe environments in the city.

2: The Labour Party is about taking a pragmatic approach to delivering the best outcome for ordinary people. It is a difficult way to do things and very few people are willing to genuinely engage with it. For various reasons it tends to be easier to

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1: City development plan 2016 to 2022 Councillors concluded this plan which will shape the future of the city till 2022. Each year we pass a budget and strike a commercial rate. Councillors have the power to vary the local property tax.

2: Having been inspired by Garret FitzGerald I joined Fine Gael in the 1980s 3: Fine Gael along with all other parties on DCC agreed on the social and affordable requirement on the IGB site for 3,500 apartments and currently we are awaiting a decision from on Bord Pleanála.

4: I am liaising with residents groups who are expressing their concerns about Bus Connects proposals. I am also very supportive of College Green plaza proposals.

5: Overall of benefit to the city but locals feel left behind as they struggle to find homes in the area.

Also extremely frustrating to see delays and cost overruns on major projects.

6: When a constituent reports back that their outstanding issue has been resolved.

South East Inner City. To achieve that objective I will continue to be available to make representations and interventions on behalf of all of our constituents.

2: I joined Fianna Fáil years ago as I felt they would represent everyone fairly. I feel I will access to the additional influence one can have as an elected representative of a larger party – access to local and national TDs – ability to implement key policies etc. The power to articulate positive policies and influence decision makers.

3: My views on the Irish Glass Bottle site is that we were promised the 900 units and we should get them. We have a great community and we need to keep it so we need housing to be affordable so local people can live in our community. The housing crisis needs to be given top priority, the present policies of this government are not working and the response to the crisis needs to be much more urgent. We need to address both the immediate needs of the homeless and those living in emergency accommodation and the longer terms issues of providing decent housing for all.

A series of measures must to be taken including fast tracking of a Social Housing building programme, integrating Social Housing into the broader context of local community development. Legislation to give tenants more security of tenure and regulations to reduce the number of evictions. Some control on spiraling rent raises.

We need to remember that housing effects people’s quality of life, a decent place to call home is a basic human need.

As an elected representative I will make housing a priority issue and will work with and support those groups highlighting the issue.

4: To expect local people not to have a bus service to Ringsend Village, Pearse St, Sandymount Village and a direct route to St Vincent's Hospital is madness. Also the bus only leaving to Matt Talbot Bridge and back is no good for people who can't get around freely. This will isolate people as they won't have public transport to get them to where they need to go (e.g. shops, doctors, hospital). And this can lead also to local business closing. On the future transport plans, the need for investment in an effective and efficient public transport. As with all types of planning, consultation with local communities is essential.

5: All development needs to have community engagement and consultation at its centre, we know that has not always happened in the past and we also know the level of problems that result from such failures. It is vital that local businesses are supported as a very important element of the community. I am particularly interested in this as my family are still involved in business in the Ringsend area of the constituency.

6: One of the things that makes me most frustrated is how slow the process of change can be, I am someone who believes in getting things done effectively and without delay. One of my reasons for going into politics is because I regard it as a privilege to be able to help and work with people locally to build a better stronger more cohesive community for all. Many things make me happy, I have always had a great interest in sport, so the Dubs winning five in a row would be a major highlight of 2019 for me.

the power and resources of local government with the ingenuity of local people who are already doing so much for their own community.

2: I decided to seek the nomination of Fine Gael for several reasons, but perhaps most significantly because there is no other party in my view that is embedded in, and supportive of, the European Union project than Fine Gael. In these testing times of BREXIT, in my view similar to when Fine Gael took over from Fianna Fáil following the financial collapse, Fine Gael’s longstanding ties and support of the European Union has paid dividend to the unwavering support we have received from the EU to defend Ireland’s interest against the threats that BREXIT poses to our country.

3: I think its important that the appeal to An Bord Pleanála first be heard and completed and I don’t want to prejudge that outcome but I do hope it will have been dealt with soon and once it is completed, I intend to scrutinise very carefully the finalised proposal and listen very carefully to the community and future residents’ views.

4: Dublin desperately needs better public transport and better cycling and pedestrian facilities given it is now the most congested city in the world.

Equally however, major infrastructural change requires comprehensive consultation with those communities who will be effected in the short-term from construction works, and in the long term from changes made to their community and environment. I have had the opportunity to knock on every door

in Nutley Lane, Nutley Avenue and Nutley Park to hear the resident's views on the impact that the Bus Connects proposals are going to have on their area and I will be attending the Bus Connects consultation meeting scheduled for the 27th of March. I have heard understandably major concerns from those living on Nutley Lane and equally concerns about safety from parents and other vulnerable road users in the wider area. I believe it is essential that the public consultation which has been extended to the end of May 2019 ensures that their views are fully and comprehensively considered and addressed.

5: I believe a lot of the community disruption that has been caused by development and public transport proposals, particularly BusConnects was entirely avoidable and with better consultation with the affected communities and greater political accountability, more cohesive solutions could have been put forward. I don’t believe in pitting car drivers against cyclists or pedestrians because all it does is create unnecessary tensions in communities when most people want good public transport, better cycling facilities and improved pedestrian amenities for vulnerable road users. If elected, I would hope to use my power to close the gap between residents, business owners, commuters and members of the community to deliver better solutions for this area.

6: Partisanship in politics makes me frustrated, and my wife and son make me happy.

either address problems with no real desire to solve them or just to ignore them altogether. The Labour Party tries to engage with issues and provide real solutions that help the most vulnerable in our society. That is why I joined the party and it is the mind set I would apply to my work as a councillor.

3: The social and affordable housing promised for the Glass Bottle site has to be delivered. It appears to be clear that certain groups would like to socially cleanse the area and it is the responsibility of the community and the public representatives to resist this in the strongest possible terms. The notion that you could be a second or third generation and suddenly be told your children aren’t good enough to live in the area is a disgrace. It is hard to underestimate the magnitude of the problem faced by communities campaigning for social and affordable housing in the South East Inner City. If we are serious about tackling the housing issue in our area we need to be willing to work together towards that aim. The delivery of mixed housing will be an absolute priority for me if I am elected.

4: The future is in public transport. I am in favour of Bus Connects and improving public transport infrastructure in general. However, it is important to understand that residents will have genuine concerns about the proposed changes and their views should be heard. Those best placed to assess the impact of the new routes are the ones who live on them. I have worked hard to ensure that people know as much about the changes as they can and know how to make their voices heard on them.

Last summer I worked with Kevin Humphreys to ensure that the proposal for the

number 1 bus route would continue to stop in Sandymount Village. The work we did, along with the residents, shows that we can make sure our voices are heard on changes that have an impact on the area.

5: The rapid development of the area risks allowing the balance to be tipped in favour of those who prioritise making profits over building communities. A number of large companies have made jobs announcements for the area in recent times and I am concerned this has been done with little regard to the impact on the local community. It is great to see that there is such a willingness to invest in Ireland and to create jobs here but we need to be careful that it is not done at any cost. The increased spending power brought by these new jobs coupled with the intention of the council not to provide social housing in the area are an obvious risk to healthy development of the area.

6: My work makes me very happy. I like working with residents and activists in the area. Everyone knows each other and they bring a strong sense of community with them. It is hard not to get caught up in it. I am a trade union organiser too and I help workers build strong unions and fight for better terms and conditions in their workplaces. It is a very fulfilling role. I get frustrated by the idea that politics has become about defining ourselves by what we are against and not what we are for. An environment like that becomes toxic very quickly and little, if anything, ever comes from it. The activism becomes about highlighting problems and attacking opponents rather than looking for solutions and it is ordinary people who always lose out.

tee Commemorations and Commemorative Naming Committee. These are exciting and challenging times for our city with major decisions to be made on many fronts. Issues I am currently dealing with include Bus Connects, and its impact on the communities in Sandymount Ballsbridge, Donnybrook and Merrion; review of the Local Property Tax for the reassessment date in 2019; reducing insurance costs for local residents by concluding the final stages of the Dodder Flood alleviation works.

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www.newsfour.ie

April / May 2019

BusConnects update: Where no bus plan has gone before

T

n Kathrin Kobus

he NTA (National Transport Authority Ireland) is busy publishing plans and projects that involve demolishing buildings, houses, cutting trees re-routing, handing over Dublin bus routes to other operators and increasing fares (simply by changing zones).

When the question comes up about the estimated amount of money to spend on various public transport projects the favourite wording is “indicative figure”, (the same “indicative figure” that was mentioned regarding the Children’s hospital). Another word used is ‘guestimate’.

Routes 14, 15 and 16 are the relevant ones for Dublin 4. They are the radials, or corridors that would replace the existing routes 4, 7 and 1. By the last week of March, before the public meetings for routes 14 and 16 came about, the NTA had received 30,000 submissions.

And it looked as if spine C through Ringsend up to Sandymount St. Johns church had been scrapped altogether.

Something got lost if not in translation exactly, definitely in communication. Because the published route 16 between Talbot Memorial Bridge/ City Centre and Ringsend is actually an additional bus corridor.

“It really should have been called City Centre and the Quays,” explained

the friendly and slightly apologetic official from the NTA. He explained in detail the phase three map to NewsFour at the meeting on Monday 1st April at the Convention Centre. The river crossing will use the “proposed Dodder Public Transportation Opening Bridge… [it] will facilitate buses, taxis, pedestrians

and cyclists to cross the Dodder River to the south of the St. Patrick’s Rowing Clubhouse.”

Basically, route 16 gives the commuter a chance to hop on a bus instead of getting on the Luas and so avoid having to walk across the East Link. The other such route supplementing the spine B

Fair Play Joe!

O

n Kathrin Kobus

ne chicken dish with brown basmati rice and kale or spinach sautéed on the side, spiced up with spring onions and a few slices of chilli pickled cucumber, that’s what this reporter had for lunch despite it being Pancake Tuesday.

It was the recommendation of the house by Joe Donnelly, who together with his wife has overhauled the menu for the Fair Play Café and has a fiveyear- plan to go that extra mile and become carbon-neutral with solar panels on the roof.

One step at a time. Gone from the menu at the Fair Play Café are burgers and lasagne; their replacements are what Joe Donnelly calls Signature Salads, with benefits of being healthy, nutritious and of course delicious.

“It was a necessary step and yes, we did lose some customers but overall the reactions have been positive,” he said.

The plot adjacent to the Café is about one third of an acre in size, roughly 1,300 square metres. There, the future food stuff for the kitchen grows and flourishes in pots, plots, raised beds and the green house.

The latter is home during February and March for the seedlings to grow into tiny green sprouts that can be planted in the soil once that magic day in March is reached.

“Wait for it, nature knows the 21st March is coming and after that it virtually explodes and leaves the dark winter months behind,” Joe Donnelly explained with quiet enthusiasm and he was looking forward to see the minuscule seeds nurtured and growing into small

green seedlings to be planted out.

Plants and veggies grown on the premises’ backyard garden, range from aubergine and courgettes to salad leaves and kale, an ingredient that takes centre stage in the signature salads.

“We all remember kale when the mother would boil the soul out of it and we were forced to eat it. But the thing is: kale doesn’t have to be boiled to mush, much better and more nutritious to stir-fry or blanch it”.

Another try-out for taste buds

from phase two links the city centre with Ballsbridge towards UCD. This route 14 will commence at the junction of Lower Fitzwilliam Street / Lower Baggot St and continue up to St. Vincent’s hospital. There, the corridor will run along Nutley Lane and so join up with route 15 going out towards Bray via UCD Campus (see map).

Here, trees will be cut, parking spaces lost and residents at Nutley Lane are opposed to the NTA’s planned space for one bus lane, one general traffic lane and a segregated cycling track, as councillor Paddy McCartan told NewsFour.

So to summarize: yes, trees and parking spaces will be lost, but the bus connection through the four sister villages remains, even if there still has to be finalised a solution for the DART crossing at Sydney Parade.

By the end of April, all planned public consultations events for phase three will be concluded. Now recommendations, opinions, and hopefully some constructive suggestions can be taken onboard by the NTA to find workable solutions.

It will be a long summer wait for phase four to surprise us yet again in September, hopefully phase four will be presented in one proper combined outline where all routes, spines, orbitals are visible.

Image: Map frombusconnects.ie

is the home-pickled cucumber.

“We pickle our own cucumbers overnight, not the standard vinegar or lemon-based, but in orange juice with a hint of chilli”. The more conventional kitchen herbs are within arms’ reach as well. “We will move the herbs much closer to the kitchen area, so they can be picked or cut literally just a few feet away”. That will include parsley, basil, chives and so on.

All that is happening under the watchful eyes of the next generation attending the Anchorage playschool. “They see how different food grows and that it really doesn’t just come out of a packet. Of course, they can also help us a bit”.

Maybe strawberries that you watched slowly ripening over a couple of days just taste that bit better than from a shopbought punnet. But there is also the business of inspection too. Every food-producing and serving outlet has to meet with

HSE approval.

“The environmental health officer came, I had invited them two weeks before we opened again. And he was happy all around”. Joe Donnelly has a five-year plan to get the FairPlay Café as self-sufficient as possible. “I want solar panels installed here up on the roof so we can run the boiler, green house and so on maybe with our own energy“.

To whet your appetite here is one tasty recipe to try out: Kale Caesar Chicken Signature Salad Ingredients: Poached Herbed Chicken served warm with Crispy Back Bacon, Sun Blushed Tomato, Crunchy Croutons, Baby Kale, Our own Caesar Dressing and Grated Parmesan The Signature Salads come with two different prize tags €8.95 or €6.50 (with or without brown basmati rice) Photo courtesy Joe Donnelly.

www.newsfour.ie

April / May 2019

SPORTS

Page 35

Mick’s Euro 2020 kicks off More controversy for John Delaney and the FAI

M

n David Prendeville ick McCarthy began his second tenure as Ireland manager with an unsurprisingly dour game away to Gibraltar.

Both sides were woefully lacking in quality in difficult playing conditions. Jeff Hendrick scored the only goal of the game, though Gibraltar did have chances of their own, forcing one excellent save from Darren Randolph.

Of course, the game itself was overshadowed by recent revelations about FAI Chief Executive John Delaney loaning the FAI €100,000 last year. This curios-

ity was rendered even more suspicious by the fact that Delaney sought to take out an injunction to stop the Sunday Times publishing the story.

It was revealed late on Saturday night that John Delaney was stepping down as CEO after fourteen years in charge. But, in a brazen move that misjudged

the mood of soccer friends in Ireland, it was also confirmed that he would be a moving into a newly created role as executive vice-president.

Protests followed at Ireland’s 1-0 home win against Georgia, with fans throwing tennis balls on the pitch. This ironically, or aptly, took place just before Ireland scored the only goal of the game – a fine free kick by Aston Villa’s Conor Hourihane.

It was undoubtedly a muchimproved performance from the Irish team than what we saw in Gibraltar, but the way some pundits waxed lyrical about it you would think that Ireland had beaten Spain rather than lowly Georgia, ranked 91st in the world.

More disturbing to this writer was the, for the most part, dismissal of the Irish fans’ protests

by RTE’s George Hamilton and Ronnie Whelan in commentary and Damien Duff in the studio.

Richie Sadlier, usually the only voice of sense on the show, fittingly was the only one who spoke in defence and understanding of the protests. Irish fans have every right to voice their unhappiness at recent revelations in FAI and at the state of Irish soccer in general. The outrageous fervour of a Dunphy was sorely missed in this instance.

The biggest indicator of how woeful a job the FAI are doing is reflected in the horrendous dearth of quality currently in the

Irish team. The FAI do not invest enough in the league of Ireland or youth teams to produce quality players. Hoping that we can pinch some players on the granny rule is a dire long-term plan, as is throwing money at McCarthy in the hope of re-creating a mis-remembered nostalgia. Ireland had good players in the last era of McCarthy, as opposed to having a good manager.

In terms of the Georgia game itself, there were some positives, as already stated. Conor Hourihane was excellent. He followed up some decent set-pieces against Gibraltar with a terrific free for the goal. David McGoldrick was also excellent up front and it was good to see Robbie Brady come back to fitness.

Ireland played some nice passing football and did deserve to win by more than the single goal. It would, however, be remiss not to acknowledge the weakness of the opponents or some baffling decisions by McCarthy.

The entire team played poorly against Gibraltar. What was McCarthy’s answer? Why, drop Matt Doherty of course, by far and away Ireland’s current best Premier League performer. Apparently, he and Seamus Coleman looked disjointed down the right, as opposed to the whole Irish team looking like they had never played together before. The linking up of those two players of quality is surely something that should be perse-

Cheque from Tesco is from the Tesco Community Fund. Presented to Harolds Cross Hospice. Left to right: Julie McDonagh, Brenda Dennard, Liam Tilly, Antoinette Carney (Tesco Manager).

vered with and practiced rather than abandoned the first time it doesn’t yield the desired results.

I also feel Irish fans, like myself, must have felt a sinking feeling at the sight of Glenn Whelan being reinstated back in to the team after being brought back from retirement. To be fair, Whelan played well on the night, but the fact that we are again turning to a 35 year-old who has always been divisive amongst Irish fans and who now is a bit-part player for a Championship club, is not a cause for optimism. McCarthy suggesting before the game that he was looking for Whelan to start off our play and dictate the game, as if he was Xavi, was almost beyond parody.

I know it may seem churlish to point out these selection problems when Ireland won the game, but they hint at problems that will come to the surface when we play better opposi-

tion. Even others positives, such as McGoldrick’s performance, are hampered somewhat by the knowledge that he’s thirty-one and has never played regularly in the Premier League, though his club Sheffield United are currently on course for promotion.

Optimists will point to the fact that after two games Ireland sit top of their group, helped by Switzerland’s 3-3 draw with Denmark. That is fair enough, but after we’ve played the Swiss and the Danes, it will really be time to assess how we’re doing.

As for the FAI, they are due before the Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport on the 10th of April to discuss the details of Delaney’s loan to them. It will be interesting to see what comes of it.

Photos of Mick McCarthy and James McClean both courtesy WikiCommons.

Mr Tilly pictured with customers and bar staff receiving the cheque from the Bath Pub for his Christmas lights fundraiser for Harolds Cross Hospice (Owners: Stephen Coomey & Brian O'Malley, manager: Brendan Waldron. Not in picture).

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Benefitting from the Lion’s share

T

n Kathrin Kobus

he rugby season has come to a close for Monkstown at the beginning of the month of April, but in preparation for the next season their athletes will have access to a new small gym area and the changing room facilities have been vastly improved and extended.

Now, the girl’s and women’s teams have their own changing rooms and showers. There is no mix-up possible. The ladies’ showers are the ones with curtains and single walk in cubicles.

The referees got their own refugee room as well, and not just a corner at the recreational/aka bar area or spending interval time in the car.

The man behind the plans, Monkstown’s Eamon Kelly, happily gave NewsFour a quick tour around the maze of rooms, the smell of fresh paint still lingering in some corners, but two members of Monkstown RFC were already busy trying out the new gym equip-

ment while the festive part went ahead in the hall.

Local politicians Dermot Lacey, Paddy McCartan and Peter McLoone chair of the community gains fund joined members of Monkstown RFC and Pembroke Cricketeers at the official opening on March 21st.

The original plans for the clubhouse, as Monkstown

president Pierce Fitzpatrick pointed out, were designed back in 1958 by well-known rugby player, Irish Lion, and Ireland hooker, Ronnie Dawson.

After more than half a century, more than just windows needed to be replaced and the whole building needed more than just a lick of paint.

Apart from extension work

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at the clubhouse, additional work was put in to improve the drainage system of the pitches.

Covanta community gains fund provided €500,000 of the costs which ran to a little over €600,000 altogether.

Pierce FitzPatrick, after calling time on his long standing career as a referee for health reasons, now wants to see through the full completion of the plans for the clubhouse.

Because all is not yet done, One third remains. “We still have plans and a new application is again with Covanta for the final bit”. So said Pembroke President Paddy Tucker who had copies of the plans for the new applications stacked away in a pink folder.

The green grass doesn’t get much rest because after the rugby players have left, the cricketers are ready to go with their first friendlies and competitive fixtures coming up end of April.

Pictured, from left: Pierce FitzPatrick president Monkstown RFC, Lorcan Balfe president Leinster Rugby, Paddy Tucker, president Pembroke Cricketeers.

Photographs: Kathrin Kobus

April / May 2019

Alfred Ronald “Ronnie” Dawson

Alfred Ronald “Ronnie” Dawson (born 5 June 1932) played hooker for Ireland.

He was captain of the British and Irish Lions rugby union team on their 1959 tour to Australia, New Zealand and Canada.

Dawson was born in Dublin, Ireland. He was educated in St. Andrew’s College in Dublin, Dublin Institute of Technology Bolton Street where he qualified as an architect and he worked as such for the Bank of Ireland for most of his professional career.

He was Chief Architect and Head of their Premises Division when he retired.

Dawson was Captain of the British Lions on their 1959 tour to Australia, New Zealand and Canada – playing in six Tests as Captain, he established a Lions record (which was later equalled by Martin Johnson).

Leinster President Lorcan Balfe, geo teacher at De La Salle.

A captain’s calling at Railway Union n Josh Fallon-Doran (Railway Union)

R

ailway Union at Park Avenue is home for a number of sports. On March 9th rugby was the main focus. It truly became a day to remember for the egg ball section.

Club captain Aoife Maher hosted the International Captain’s Day. Her invitation had gone out from Sandymount to teams in France, Spain, USA and for some local rivalry Wicklow.

Over 200 rugby players, therefore, descended onto the pitches for “International Captain’s Day”. Women and men’s squads alike, among them Los Papas and Biarnes Bears (France), Ossos Inef Barcelona (Spain), Washington State University (USA), Wicklow RFC and of course the hosts fielded their own Men’s and Women’s teams.

The blitz competition kicked

off at 12pm. Sixteen hotlycontested games were played leading up to a 3pm finish. The Railway women’s side took their respective top spot, winning the women’s final, while French side, Biarnes Bears won the men’s category.

The sporty side of things was swiftly followed by mass indulgence in a host of cultural delicacies, ranging from foie gras and truffles from their French

counterparts to black pudding and Hooch from their friends from Wicklow.

The party continued long into the evening, with plenty of sing-

ing and dancing. Many new friendships began and connections for future joint ventures and adventures were developed.

Club captain, Aoife Maher, was happy as an eventful day came to a close. “[This] Saturday was a great day at the club. It was always going to be brilliant with so many different cultures. A big thank you has to go to the club and all those involved in organising what was a fantastic

event.”

Sadly, Railway president Charlie Hurley had passed away in January. His family came to the after-blitz party afterwards with a surprise. They brought with them an item, that Charlie Hurley had probably kept hidden away in the attic. It was the last jersey he had worn while playing for the club. Charlie had joined Railway Union in 1958, played 24 seasons and togged out for his final game in 1982. He was a player, a captain, an honorary life member and a three-time president.

Charlie somehow managed to nick his jersey from his very last game as a personal token.

With great delight, his grandson Sam now returned it to the Club House where it will surely find a special place.

Top: Railway Ladies.

Left: Return of the jersey.

Photographs courtesy of Railway Union.

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April / May 2019

Felix O’Regan vents off the field of play have been as dominant as on-field activity at Clanna Gael Fontenoy over recent weeks; from recognition of club members for their role in the wider community to reaching across the sporting divide to participate in other sports at the highest level.

n

Community recognition It was great to see two club members, Jay Byrne and Conor Barnes, each receive a Sean Moore Community Award for their services to the community.

In addition to support which both give towards a range of activities at the club, Jay was commended for his dedication to other community support work he’s been doing for many years; while Conor was singled out for the assistance he recently provided to a woman in distress on the banks of the Liffey.

They received their awards at a ceremony which was attended by record numbers, including Deputy Lord Mary and Councillor Frank Kennedy (who presented the awards), Councillor Dermot Lacey, Senator Kevin Humphreys and Jim O’Callaghan TD. Conor Barnes was also among the four club members – along with Claire Byrne, Maria O’Dea and Ella Thiourrez – to be nominated for a Dublin South Central Garda Youth Award. They were nominated in respect of their exceptional voluntary contribution to the youth in the community through their club over a number of years and the excellent role models that they represent for the youth in the area. They were presented with their Certificates at a ceremony in Google in Barrow Street.

Reaching across the sporting divide The club was pleased to launch

Clanna Gael Fontenoy: Success on and off the field

a fundraising initiative in support of the Sean Cox Rehabilitation Trust, to coincide with the Ireland v Liverpool Legends soccer match in the Aviva Stadium on April 12th. Seán Cox is a 53year old husband and father of three from Dunboyne in Meath.

An avid GAA supporter who formerly served as Chairman of St Peter’s GAA Club in Dunboyne as well as a lifelong Liverpool FC fan, he travelled in April 2018 to the Champions League semi-final between Liverpool and AS Roma in Anfield. Just before kick-off, on his way to the stadium, he was the victim of a vicious and unprovoked attack, which left him with life-changing injuries.

Our initiative was supported

by Ireland v Liverpool Legends Organising Committee members, Fergus McNulty and Michael O’Flynn. Fergus is the current Chairman of St Peter’s GAA Club, while Michael was instrumental in arranging for the Liam Miller Tribute match to take place in Cork’s Páirc Uí Chaoimh

last September.

The club had the distinction of having no fewer than nine of our current crop of young footballers involved in the recent Leinster Schools Senior Rugby Cup Final. Conor Hennessy, Karl Morgan, Brian Barron and Colm Kirby O’Briain started for the Gonzaga College side, while Rory O’Kennedy was also involved with the wider panel. On the victorious St Michael’s side Rohan van den Akker, Jack Guinane and Jeffrey Woods played their part in the final, with Hugo McWade also involved in their wider panel.

It’s a clear sign of the talent and versatility of our young players today that many of them can and do play a number of sports at the highest level, as well as the complementary nature of these sports. Moreover, a number of these players are currently involved in Dublin under-age football and hurling squads, having already won a Dublin U-16 football championship with Clanns in 2017.

New Junior football team off to flying start There is no doubt that, for any club to be really successful, it needs strength in depth. So it bodes well for the future of our club that, after an absence of many years, a new Junior Men’s football squad has been formed for the 2019 season. The squad caters for minor players who have successfully completed their journey through the juvenile ranks, for intermediate players who are stepping down from the demands of that level, as well as other players who would like to get back into Gaelic football, having taken a break for whatever reason. And of course new players are welcome at any time.

What’s also welcome is that they’ve got off to a flying start by winning their competitive games to date. In their momentous first outing away to Lucan Sarsfields they recorded an impressive 2-16 to 0-6 win.

A mixture of the old and the new, the team was ably led by Si-

Page 37 mon Beirne in midfield, with JP Pugh holding things tight at the back and Colley Reynolds rolling back the years with a high-scoring display at full-forward. The younger lads were also not found wanting either, with Emmet Bolster stamping his presence on the game from the start right through to the final whistle; Scott Collopy contributing some fine scores and Iggy O’Loughlin marauding up the pitch from his full back berth.

Team mentors, Michael Costello and Roger McGrath, were understandably delighted with the debut performance. And they’ve had further cause to be satisfied, as the team has also gone on to win their other competitive fixtures. So things are looking good for this group of players and for the future of football at the club – especially with the Intermediate Football team also going well and already building nicely on a very good 2018 season.

Clockwise from top: The club’s fundraising initiative in support of the Sean Cox Rehabilitation Trust is supported by Ireland v Liverpool Legends Organising Committee members, Michael O’Flynn (left) and Fergus McNulty, who are pictured with Clanns and Dublin footballers Kate McKenna and Evan Caulfield.

(Photo courtesy Julien Behal).

Conor Barnes and Jay Byrne with their Sean Moore Community Awards.

The newly-formed Junior Football team. Left to right (back row):

Kevin McGrath, Jonny Beirne, Colley Reynolds, Paddy Meehan, Patrick MacNamara, Oran Burke, Sean Fitzpatrick, Simon Beirne, Conor Barnes, Shane Murphy, Paul Duffy. Front Row: Dave Betney, JP Pugh, Scott Collopy, Dean Fitzpatrick, Iggy McLoughlin, Kevin McGivern, Peader Gormley, Emmet Bolster, Brian O’Reilly.

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Archie Goodall

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April / May 2019

The cast-iron footballer

Gavan Bergin rchie Goodall was born in Belfast in 1864 and grew up in Kilmarnock in Scotland. As a boy he learned to play football along with his brother John, who went on to be an England international player.

In the early 1880s, Archie moved to England and began to make his name as a professional footballer, playing for Liverpool Stanley between 1885 and 1886.

By that time, as well as having become a very good footballer, Archie had grown into, according to the Derby Telegraph, “a rambunctious powerhouse of a player, with a cast-iron body set on a pair of legs that seemed like oak trees, who knocked defenders aside with a barrelled chest before thumping the ball into the net with an anvillike boot”.

Archie spent the 1887/88 season with Bolton Wanderers, then moved to his brother’s club Preston North End for the start of the 1888/89 season. That was the first ever season of the Football League and Archie made his debut playing at inside-forward in a 4-0 win against Wolverhampton Wanderers on September 18th 1888.

Two weeks after playing his first Preston game Archie was gone from the club, not due to his performance on the field – he had played brilliantly – but he was a tempestuous, exuberant fellow of a sometimes fiery temperament who had quite a high public profile due to his achievements outside of football.

He was a successful weightlifter and had an interest in the world of music hall, so he was pretty unconventional for a footballer of the time. Archie had a keen sense of his own worth, as a player and as a man, and he certainly wasn’t afraid to stand up for himself against the bosses. As a result, he often ended up coming into conflict with management at the football clubs he played for. He was transferred to Aston Villa on September 30th 1888. It was the Football League’s first ever player transfer.

In his first match for Aston Villa, against Blackburn Rovers, he played as a central defender yet still managed to score. He continued to do amazingly well for Villa in various different positions, n

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playing at wing-half, full-back and centre-forward. He finished the 1888/89 season with an impressive record of seven goals in fourteen games. Nevertheless, at the end of the season he moved to Derby County.

Archie showed great improvement as a player after moving to Derby, perhaps due to the fact that he wasn’t moved about so much.

At Derby, Archie played mostly as a defender and his hard-hitting style turned out to be just as effective as it was when he played up front. And he didn’t lose the knack of scoring, he began to earn a reputation for hitting the back of the net with spectacular long-range goals.

The Lancashire Times reported his arrival at Derby by praising him as “a bold-hearted, never-beaten player, with the finest long-shot in the kingdom, whose dash and spirit are contagious, and to his example of pluck and determination may be attributed the recent transformation of the Derby team. It is literally true to say of him that he is a strong defender, for he holds several records in competitive weightlifting, in which he is probably unequalled in the Midlands. His physical power is greatly helpful to him in tackling opponents, he is a tremendous force, overflowing with energy, with methods that occasionally smack of the ultravigorous, and on his day is capable not only of holding the best centre forwards, but of playing the inside three men himself.”

Archie stayed with Derby for fourteen years. He was made club captain in 1899 and helped Derby to the greatest period of success they had ever had. The season before Archie joined, Derby had finished only four points above last place in the League, after he arrived they would achieve regular top-ten positions, including a runners-up spot and two third place finishes and in the FA Cup. Derby got to the semi-final in 1896 and 1897, then to the Final in 1898 and 1899. During his time as captain, several club records were set that remain unbroken to this day.

As well as the team records, Archie set one as a player: he played 151 consecutive league matches for Derby, never missing a single game between 1892 and 1897.

In 1903, Archie left Derby af-

ter 443 matches and 52 goals. He joined Plymouth Argyle as their first ever captain, before moving on to Glossop Town, where he scored 13 goals in 28 matches – pretty impressive for any forward, never mind one who had turned forty the previous summer!

But, even then, the old warrior wasn’t quite finished, and he was signed up by Wolverhampton Wanderers for the 1905/06 First Division season. In December 1905, he set one last record in English football, in his last ever league match, for Wolves against Everton, at the age of 41 years and 153 days, making him the oldest man ever to play for Wolves.

Although Archie and his brother John Goodall both grew up in Scotland, neither of the brothers was allowed to play for the Scotland international team. As John was born in England, he was eligible to play for them, and he made his England debut in 1888. Archie had to wait much longer to play international football because, for the first seven years of its existence, the Ireland team consisted only of players who played for Irish club sides, which meant that Archie couldn’t play for the country of his birth.

The Irish Football Association eventually changed its restrictive selection policy and, when they played Wales on March 4th 1899, the Ireland team contained four players from English league clubs and one of those pioneering players was Archie, making his international debut at the age of 33!

He may have been a bit long in the tooth to be playing his first match for Ireland, but it sure didn’t show on the pitch. After a scoreless first half, Ireland went 1-0 up early in the second half, and for a while it looked like Archie’s first game at the heart of the Irish defence would be uneventful – until Wales came storming back to put heavy pressure on Ireland’s back line.

Then Archie came into his own with a show of resolute defending that saved the day for Ireland, making sure the game was won and ensuring that there could be no recriminations about the selection of the English-based players.

His brilliance in the match did not go unnoticed in the papers, and The Freeman’s Journal reported

that, “Archie Goodall played a magnificent game in defence, his tackling and pacing earned the admiration of the crowd, and he even managed to get forward, coming very close to scoring in the first half with a fast grounder of a shot.

Throughout the game he was resolute, with his vigorous defending decisive in preserving the victory for the Irish team. At the end of the match the crowd grew wild in its enthusiasm, spectators jumped the palings, swarmed around the victorious players and carried Goodall shoulder high to the pavillion.“ In 1903 Ireland’s last match of the British Championship was against Wales. A win would make it the best season ever by any Irish team.

The game took place in Belfast on March 28th 1903 and from the very first minute it was plain to see that Archie was well up to the task. Early on in the game, he hit the Welsh upright, then, just before half-time he came close again when according to the Freeman’s Journal “he struck the crossbar with a fine attempt”. The score was still 0-0 when the second half began in a storm of rain and hail that turned the pitch into a marshy quagmire. It made accurate passing quite a challenge for both teams, but the first to get to grips with the conditions were the Welsh players, who forced the play during the opening minutes of the half. But they could not break down the solid Irish defence, with Archie standing firm in the eye of the attacking storm.

Ireland then began to turn the tables, with a period of superb offensive play that kept the Welsh defenders incessantly busy. In the 65th minute, Archie went forward

on a typically barnstorming run from defence, smashing into midfield and letting fly with a swerving, drooping shot that landed and bounced in front of the Wales ‘keeper- who let it slip through his hands and into the net.

Amid tremendous cheering from the crowd Ireland won the game, which earned them an equal share of the trophy. They may have been only ‘joint champions’ of Britain but it was still the best Ireland had ever done in the tournament.

As well as helping his country to achieve that honour, Archie’s goal against the Welsh made him Ireland’s oldest ever goalscorer. That was his last international goal and, one year later, in March 1904, he played his last international match.

Archie’s retirement from football did not lead to times of quiet reflection and easy living. He became internationally famous as a strongman and vaudeville star. On his posters he was billed as “Archie Goodall, the world’s greatest international footballer, in the most wonderful and daring act in existence, Walking the Hoop!, a remarkable cross between illusion and athleticism that defies the laws of gravity and the limitations of the human body.” He travelled to America, had great success there with his performances, and only stopped his shows when he was in his sixties.

Archie died at the age of 81. His obituary in the Derby Telegraph recalled Archie’s playing days, saying “he was strong as a horse, highly intelligent and had no equal on the football field. There is no doubt that Archie Goodall was one of the most remarkable personalities the game has ever produced” Good old Archie Goodall.

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